The Emergency Lawyers, a group that has documented atrocities throughout the two-year conflict between the regular army and the RSF, said civilians were killed en masse Sunday when paramilitary fighters stormed the village of Um Garfa in North Kordofan state, razing houses and looting property.

The attack occurred around 90 kilometres (55 miles) north of Bara, a city currently under RSF control, where fierce clashes have recently broken out between the paramilitary force and the army.

The village also lies on a key highway to Khartoum, some 250 kilometres southwest of the capital, which the army recaptured in March, sending the RSF on a scramble to secure territory in other parts of the country.

A list sent to AFP by the group confirmed that women and children were among those killed in the attack.

There are also reports of dozens of civilian casualties in neighbouring villages.

The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday that intensified fighting in the region forced more than 3,000 people to flee the villages of Shag Alnom and Al Kordi. Many have sought refuge in surrounding parts of Bara, according to the UN agency.

The Sudanese army has launched several offensives in recent weeks to regain control of Bara, a key strategic location in North Kordofan.

Now in its third year, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, creating what the United Nations describes as the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.