Medical group says SPLM-N killed 27, including four children, in South Kordofan

The Sudan Doctors Network, a local medical monitoring group, has accused the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM-N) of killing at least 27 people, including four children, in recent ethnic clashes in the Qardud and Abu Hamama localities of South Kordofan. The attacks occurred in areas inhabited by the Otoro tribe, a minority group in the Nuba Mountains, and were sparked by longstanding land disputes that escalated earlier this year.

The violence adds to the broader civil war that erupted in April 2023 between the national army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Following the killings, many residents fled toward the nearby village of Abu Hitan and the regional hub of Kadugli. In a Facebook statement, the Sudan Doctors Network warned that targeting unarmed civilians on ethnic grounds violates international humanitarian law and urged the international community to pressure SPLM-N leadership to stop such attacks. The SPLM-N, a breakaway faction of the ruling SPLM in South Sudan, is aligned with the RSF and participates in the RSF-led parallel government.