Clashes in Southern Sudan Kill at Least 21

Clashes in southern Sudan have killed at least 21 people, including women and children, the Sudan Doctors Network said Friday.

The network reported that the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) rebel group attacked Debi and Luweri in South Kordofan’s Kauda town on Thursday. The fighting between the SPLM-N and the minority Otoro tribe violated a ceasefire backed last month by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with whom rebel leader Abdel Aziz al-Hilu is aligned.

The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data think tank said al-Hilu’s forces previously attacked 10 Otoro villages between Aug. 20 and 26, displacing hundreds.  SPLM-N claimed control of Kauda. Think tank analyst Ali Mahmoud Ali warned the clashes could draw more Nuba clans into the conflict and worsen divisions in South Kordofan.

The rebel faction, a breakaway from South Sudan’s ruling party, joined an RSF-backed local government. Since 2023, the wider RSF-military war has killed at least 59,000, displaced 13 million and caused famine. The network has recorded at least 158 deaths since land-dispute violence began in March.