Violent clashes erupted in South Kordofan State, Sudan, between fighters of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, and an armed group from the Otoro tribe.
The Otoro group reported that eight villages were burned and their inhabitants displaced. According to local sources, al-Hilu’s movement launched a military operation to retake Kauda at the beginning of the week. The movement’s forces managed to recapture the town and facilities that the Otoro fighters had seized last June. The sources added that the movement’s forces reinforced their presence around the town and began advancing towards other areas surrounding Heiban.
In response, the Otoro tribe’s media committee stated that the movement had deployed reinforcements estimated at around 5,000 fighters, supported by armored vehicles, artillery, and heavy weapons. On Thursday, they launched simultaneous attacks on populated areas belonging to the tribe around Kauda. The committee
added that the attacks targeted eight villages: Shiri, Korbla, Al-Qumair, Shawri, Duli, Karqa, and Namli. It stated that looting, arson, and destruction led to the displacement of residents, while the fate of thousands of civilians, including women and children who fled the fighting, remains unknown.
The committee called on humanitarian and human rights organizations to access the area, assess the situation of the residents, monitor violations, and provide aid to the displaced.
The SPLM-N (al-Hilu faction) describes the armed group it is fighting as a rebel group against the movement's leadership and maintains that the fighting is not targeting the Otoro tribe as a social component.
The crisis began last March with disputes over border demarcation between the Otoro and Shawaya tribes in the Heiban area and escalated into military clashes.
Last June, Otoro fighters seized control of a large part of Kauda, the movement's stronghold, and expelled the al-Hilu administration.
Kauda serves as the political and military headquarters of the SPLM-N, from which it has managed its forces and institutions since the early years of the war in the Nuba Mountains. Fighting resumed in the city and its surroundings in late July and early August, causing widespread displacement. Local sources reported the looting of homes and offices belonging to institutions and organizations, while an armed group stormed a prison in the area and released a number of detainees.
In South Kordofan state… complaints of interference in land ownership and borders
The clashes have extended to humanitarian workers, with aid workers detained in the area, at a time when humanitarian organizations are facing increasing difficulty reaching affected populations.
Last May, the Sudanese Doctors Network reported that more than 60 people, including children and women, had been killed during weeks of fighting in and around Kauda. Local sources accused the SPLM-N forces of committing violations against civilians, while the movement denied targeting civilians.
The Otoro fighters accuse the SPLM-N leadership of imposing new arrangements on Otoro areas and interfering in land ownership and border issues. The movement, however, maintains that these demands were used as a pretext for an armed rebellion against the leadership.
For years, the SPLM-N has been engaged in conflict with successive Sudanese governments. Since June 2011, when fighting broke out between its forces and the Sudanese army following South Sudan's secession, Abdelaziz al-Hilu has maintained control over parts of South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, establishing Kauda as his center of power. During successive rounds of negotiations, he demanded a secular state and the right of regions to manage their own resources—demands that prevented a final peace agreement.
During the transitional period, former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok attempted to push al-Hilu toward a new negotiating track and visited Kauda for this purpose. However, the movement refused at that time to enter into any negotiating arrangements that included the Rapid
Support Forces (RSF), before the situation changed following the outbreak of war in April 2023. In March 2024, al-Hilu signed a political agreement in Nairobi with the RSF and other political and armed groups. He subsequently became part of the alliance that formed around the RSF, a stance that drew objections from political and military circles within the movement, especially given the escalating accusations against the RSF of committing widespread violations against civilians.
Separately, the government of Qaysan province in southeastern Sudan reported clashes within the city of Qaysan in Blue Nile State between the RSF and fighters affiliated with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), amid mutual accusations against the RSF of committing widespread violations against civilians.
Separately, the government of Qaysan province in southeastern Sudan reported clashes within the city of Qaysan in Blue Nile State between the RSF and fighters affiliated with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), amid mutual accusations regarding control of citizens' property, markets, and public institutions.
She said the clashes erupted over disputes regarding control of civilian property and goods in markets, as well as livestock and government property. She reported casualties on both sides.
These confrontations come just days after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), backed by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), seized parts of Qaysan province following the withdrawal of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAR) from their positions in the area.
The SPLM-N is based in mountainous regions along the border with Ethiopia.
In mid-August, the RSF and its allies advanced into parts of Qaysan province after battles with the SAR. This advance altered the map of control in the region, pushing government forces to adjacent positions, while the army began regrouping in preparation for an attempt to retake the lost territory. In the Bakuri area, adjacent to Qaysan, the army mobilized additional forces, and the commander of the 13th Brigade stated that the Armed Forces were preparing to confront the RSF and prevent their further advance in the region.
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