Sudan's army stated that it would respond "harshly" to the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces ' raid on a village that left more than 100 people dead.
The raid was the largest in a series of hundreds of attacks by RSF forces on tiny towns around the agricultural state since the group took control of the capital, Wad Madani, in December.
Army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan made the remark after local activists accused the army of failing to respond to aid appeals.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly denounced the incident, according to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
"The Secretary-General urges all parties to refrain from any attacks that could harm civilians or damage civilian infrastructure," Dujarric said in a statement.
"The Secretary-General expresses his deep concern regarding the immense suffering of the Sudanese population as a result of the continued hostilities," he said.
"He stresses that it is high time for all parties to silence their guns across Sudan and commit to a path towards sustainable peace."
Sudan's top U.N. official requested an inquiry into the incident in Wad al-Noura village, Gezira State, central Sudan.
"Even by the tragic standards of Sudan's conflict, the images emerging from Wad Al-Noura are heart-breaking," said U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Clementine Nkweta-Salami in a statement.
She referenced photographs posted on social media by the Wad Madani Resistance Committee, which has been documenting similar assaults, depicting scores of bodies bundled for burial.
On Thursday, the committee said that 104 people had been killed and hundreds injured in Wad al-Noura and that the RSF was moving on to neighboring communities.
After disagreements over the unification of the two forces, the RSF began battling with the army in April 2023 and has since gained control of the capital, Khartoum, and the majority of western Sudan.
