KADUGLI – The Sudan Doctors Network said 27 people, including four children, were killed in attacks allegedly carried out by the SPLM-North, al-Hilu faction, on two areas in South Kordofan, warning that the violence could deepen ethnic conflict in the state.
The network said the attacks targeted Al-Qardud and Abu Hamama against the backdrop of the SPLM-N’s conflict with members of the Atoro tribe, which lives in the area.
It said others were injured in the attacks, including women, while large numbers of civilians were displaced toward Abu Hitan and Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan.
Sudan Now could not independently verify the casualty figures or the circumstances of the attacks. The SPLM-N, led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, did not immediately comment on the allegations.
The Sudan Doctors Network said targeting unarmed civilians, including women and children, on ethnic grounds represents a clear violation of international humanitarian law. It warned that retaliatory attacks based on ethnic or tribal affiliation could turn the conflict in South Kordofan into a wider ethnic confrontation.
The reported attacks come amid escalating violence in the Nuba Mountains, where tensions between the SPLM-N and members of the Atoro community have intensified in recent months. The conflict has included mutual accusations over rebellion, land control, local authority and access to resource-rich areas.
The SPLM-N has previously said its operations in the area target armed mutineers and security threats, not the Atoro community as a whole. Atoro leaders and local groups reject that account, accusing the movement of targeting civilians and attempting to impose control over their land by force.
In recent weeks, local groups have reported attacks on villages near Kauda and Heiban, displacement of thousands of civilians, burning and looting of homes and markets, and arrests of community members and humanitarian workers. Independent verification remains difficult because of insecurity and limited access to the area.
South Kordofan has long been one of Sudan’s most fragile conflict zones. Parts of the Nuba Mountains remain under SPLM-N control and largely outside state authority, while the wider war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has further complicated security and humanitarian access across Kordofan.
The Sudan Doctors Network called on the international community, rights groups and humanitarian organizations to urgently pressure the SPLM-N leadership to stop attacks on civilians and protect affected communities.
It also called for humanitarian access to displaced and war-affected people and for accountability for anyone proven to have taken part in targeting civilians or violating their rights.
