HEIBAN – Traditional leaders of the Otoro community in South Kordofan accused forces affiliated with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu of arresting a doctor and an aid worker and expelling displaced families from Mendi after confiscating their property.
In a statement dated Sept. 7, the Otoro Tribe Mukoia said People’s Army intelligence arrested Dr. Kangas Natambi Jaro, director of medical supplies for the Nuba Mountains region, and Yusuf Ibrahim, an employee of Samaritan, on Sept. 5 and 6.
The statement said the two men were taken to unknown locations.
The Mukoia also said a force from Battalion 36 raided Mendi on the morning of Sept. 7 and forcibly expelled displaced Otoro families after confiscating their property.
It described the arrests and expulsion as a violation of the declaration of cessation of hostilities and a continuation of targeting on tribal grounds.
Sudan Now could not independently verify the arrests, the detainees’ whereabouts or the reported expulsion of displaced families from Mendi. The SPLM-N Al-Hilu did not immediately comment on the accusations.
Calls for Release and Accountability
The Otoro leaders demanded the immediate release of all detainees, disclosure of their whereabouts and guarantees for their safety.
They also called on the mechanism linked to the initiative of the president of the Presidential Council and human rights organizations to intervene urgently to stop the violations and hold those responsible accountable.
The statement was issued by Mek Kuku Al-Dogair Damjla, acting general mek of the Otoro tribe.
Background
The accusation comes amid renewed tensions in the Nuba Mountains, where Otoro representatives and civil groups have accused SPLM-N Al-Hilu forces of attacks, arrests and forced displacement.
In recent days, the Sudan Doctors Network said more than 21 people, including women and children, were killed and others injured in an attack it blamed on SPLM-N Al-Hilu forces on Debi and Luweri, south and west of Kauda.
Local Otoro groups say the violence has continued despite a declared cessation of hostilities, raising fears of further displacement during the rainy season.
The SPLM-N has previously denied targeting the Otoro community as a whole, saying its operations were directed against armed mutineers. Otoro leaders and local civil groups reject that account and say civilians are being targeted on ethnic and tribal grounds.
The dispute has added to worsening humanitarian conditions in South Kordofan, where conflict, insecurity, poor road access and limited aid operations have left displaced communities facing hunger, disease and lack of medical care.
