Clashes in southern Sudan have killed at least 21 people, including women and children, the Sudan Doctors Network said Friday.
The network reported that the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) rebel group attacked Debi and Luweri in South Kordofan's Kauda town on Thursday. The fighting between the SPLM-N and the minority Otoro tribe violated a ceasefire backed last month by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with whom rebel leader Abdel Aziz al-Hilu is aligned.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data think tank said al-Hilu's forces previously attacked 10 Otoro villages between Aug. 20 and 26, displacing hundreds. SPLM-N claimed control of Kauda. Think tank analyst Ali Mahmoud Ali warned the clashes could draw more Nuba clans into the conflict and worsen divisions in South Kordofan.
The rebel faction, a breakaway from South Sudan's ruling party, joined an RSF-backed local government. Since 2023, the wider RSF-military war has killed at least 59,000, displaced 13 million and caused famine. The network has recorded at least 158 deaths since land-dispute violence began in March.