He says clashes first broke out on Thursday with the murder of two people by an unknown assailant in Kreinik, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) east of Genena, the provincial capital of western Darfur.

He says the militias known as janjaweed attacked the area early Sunday with heavy weapons, burning and looting houses in the area.

The clashes eventually reached Genena, where militias and armed groups attacked the wounded while they were being treated at the city’s main hospital, according to Salah Saleh, a doctor and the hospital’s former medical director.

Authorities have sent more troops to the region since Thursday’s fighting left eight people dead and at least 16 others injured.

Sudan’s Darfur region has seen deadly clashes between rival tribes in recent months as the country continues to be mired in a wider crisis after last year’s coup when top generals overthrew a civilian-led government.

The October coup has rocked the country’s fragile path to democracy after a popular uprising led to the military overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.