UNITED NATIONS Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sudan was on the brink of a “full-scale civil war” as fierce clashes between rival generals continued unabated on Sunday in the capital, Khartoum.

He warned on Saturday evening that the war between the Sudanese military and a powerful paramilitary force is likely to destabilise the entire region, according to Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the secretary-general.

Sudan descended into chaos after months of tension between military chief Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and his rival Gen Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open fighting in mid-April.

Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim said in televised comments last month that the clashes have killed over 3,000 people and wounded over 6,000 others. But the death tally is likely to be much higher. 

The UN says that nearly three million people have been forced to flee their homes.

The comments from Mr Guterres come after an air strike in the Dar es Salaam neighbourhood of Omdurman on Saturday killed at least 22 people, in one of the deadliest air attacks yet in three months of fighting.

A brief statement by the country’s health ministry did not specify the number of people injured.