At least five people, including a child, were killed and several others injured when the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) carried out an artillery attack on residential areas in the town of Dilling, South Kordofan province. The Sudan Doctors Network confirmed the incident on Friday, condemning the bombardment as a breach of international humanitarian law.
The medical organization urged the international community to pressure the SPLM-N leadership, led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, to halt attacks on civilians. Al-Hilu’s faction has aligned itself with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their parallel administration in Sudan, despite the group being a breakaway from the ruling party of neighboring South Sudan.
This latest violence follows a separate attack earlier in the day on the areas of Debi and Luweri near Kauda, where SPLM-N forces killed more than 21 people, including women and children. The medical group stated that these assaults specifically targeted the Otoro tribe, a minority community in the Nuba Mountains.
The killings stem from land disputes that have fueled ethnic tensions, compounding the broader civil war between the Sudanese army and the RSF. Despite an RSF-backed ceasefire agreement last month, Al-Hilu did not adhere to the accord. Between August 20 and 26, his forces attacked at least 10 Otoro villages, displacing thousands of civilians.
The escalation comes as a United Nations-backed independent fact-finding mission reported Thursday that foreign involvement—including external supply networks, foreign personnel, and military drones—is intensifying violence against civilians across Sudan. Since fighting erupted between the military and the RSF in April 2023, the conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced approximately 13 million people, and pushed parts of the country toward famine. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 34 million people, representing two-thirds of Sudan’s population, now require urgent humanitarian assistance.
Absolutely horrifying. A child killed in an artillery strike on a residential area is a war crime plain and simple.
Wait, SPLM-N aligning with the RSF? I thought they were breakaways from South Sudan’s ruling party. How does that work politically?
With 34 million needing aid, when will the world actually intervene instead of just issuing statements? The ceasefire is clearly dead.