Child among at least five killed in Dilling shelling

At least five people, including a child, were killed and several others injured when residential areas in Dilling, South Kordofan, were shelled, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.

In a statement issued on Friday, the medical organisation accused the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, or SPLM-N, of carrying out the artillery attack.

Earlier attacks reported near Kauda

The Sudan Doctors Network said in a separate statement that SPLM-N forces attacked Debi and Luweri, near Kauda, killing more than 21 people, including women and children. The network said the attacks targeted the Otoro tribe, a minority group in the Nuba Mountains.

The killings followed clashes driven by land disputes, adding ethnic tensions to Sudan’s wider war between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. For additional context, see “UN Patrol Ambushed in South Sudan as Civil War Fears Rise”.

Fighting continues despite ceasefire effort

The recent violence came despite a ceasefire initiative backed by the RSF the previous month. Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, the SPLM-N leader, did not commit to the agreement, and the group’s forces attacked at least 10 Otoro villages between August 20 and 26, displacing thousands of civilians.

Al-Hilu has aligned his fighters with the RSF and joined the RSF-led parallel government in Sudan. The SPLM-N is a breakaway faction of the SPLM, the governing party of neighbouring South Sudan. A related part of this story is covered in “Fighting and floods deepen Sudan’s Kordofan displacement crisis”.

UN-backed mission warns of wider escalation

A United Nations-backed independent fact-finding mission said foreign involvement, including external supply networks, foreign personnel and military drones, is driving Sudan’s conflict and worsening violence against civilians nationwide.

The war between Sudan’s military and the RSF began in April 2023. It has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced approximately 13 million, while parts of the country have been pushed into famine. The World Health Organization says nearly 34 million people require urgent humanitarian assistance. The development of this issue can be followed in “Sudan army withdraws as RSF-led forces enter Kurmuk”.