At least 28 people were killed and dozens more injured when a market in Sudan’s Kordofan region was struck by drones, a rights group reported Monday, as the conflict between the army and a paramilitary force nears its third year.

Emergency Lawyers, a group monitoring civilian casualties, said the attack occurred on Sunday in the Sudri locality of North Kordofan province, during peak market hours, worsening the humanitarian crisis. The group warned that the death toll could rise.

“The repeated use of drones against populated areas shows a serious disregard for civilian life and signals an escalation threatening daily life in the province. We call for an immediate stop to all drone attacks by both sides,” the group said in a statement.

Emergency Lawyers claimed that drones belonging to the army carried out the strike. However, two unnamed military officials told The Associated Press that the army does not target civilian sites and denied involvement.

The attack comes just over a week after a drone strike near Rahad city hit a vehicle carrying displaced families, killing at least 24 people, including eight children. The day before, a World Food Program aid convoy was also targeted.

Fighting between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into full-scale war across the country in April 2023. According to the World Health Organization, the conflict has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million, though aid groups say the real toll could be much higher due to ongoing fighting in remote areas.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has described Kordofan as “volatile and a focus of hostilities,” with both sides accused of committing atrocities. A recent U.N. report said that more than 6,000 people were killed over three days during an RSF offensive in Sudan’s Darfur region in late October, involving acts that may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity.