At least 127 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Sudan on Monday and Tuesday by barrel bombs and shelling from the warring sides, rights activists said.

The 20-month-old war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been turning increasingly bloody as ceasefire efforts have stalled, and crises elsewhere have dominated world attention.

The army has stepped up airstrikes in the half of the country that the RSF controls, while the RSF has staged raids on villages and intense artillery strikes. Both have targeted densely populated civilian areas.

More than eight barrel bombs hit the market in the North Darfur town of Kabkabiya on Monday, the pro-democracy Al-Fashir Resistance Committee said. Emergency Lawyers, a human rights group, said more than 100 had been killed and hundreds wounded.

The army has frequently targeted towns in North Darfur with airstrikes as it fights the RSF for control of the state capital, al-Fashir, its last foothold in the region.

It denied responsibility for the attack on Kabkabiya, while insisting that it had the right to target any location used by the RSF for military purposes. The RSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.