As two rival generals, each with his own army, grappled for power in Sudan on Monday, even hospitals trying to tend to the swelling numbers of wounded were no longer havens, writes The New York Times.

At one overwhelmed medical center, the morning began with shelling. Then, members of a paramilitary force barged inside, ordered newborns and other patients to be evacuated, and began taking up positions, one doctor said.

“The hospital turned into a battlefield”, said the doctor, Musab Khojali, an emergency room physician at the Police Hospital in Burri, northeast of the capital, Khartoum. Many other hospitals were also reported to have come under attack on Monday, the third day of fighting in Sudan.

The death toll has risen to at least 200, with about 2000 others injured.

The two generals, who together seized power in a coup in 2021, have now turned against each other - rebuffing all attempts by mediators who for months had been pressing them to unite their fighting forces under one umbrella, relinquish power and allow a transition to civilian rule.

Amid growing reports of random violence and looting, concerns grew that the fighting might embroil other nations in the region, including Egypt, which has troops in the country, as well as Chad, Ethiopia and Libya. Russia has also been trying to make inroads in Sudan, and members of the Kremlin-affiliated Wagner private military company are posted there.

Leaders from around the world called for a cease-fire, but it was not clear who, if anyone, was in control of Sudan, Africa’s third-largest country, by area.