Dozens killed in rebel attacks on Sudan’s Kordofan, medical group says

By Anadolu and AP. Published On 26 Aug 202626 Aug 2026.

Key points

• The civil war in Sudan has killed at least 59, 000 individuals and forced some 14 million residents from their homes.
• According to the World Health Organization, some 33.7 million individuals, or two-thirds of the country's population, require humanitarian assistance.
• Its leader, Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, has aligned his fighters with the RSF and joined ranks with the RSF-led parallel administration in Sudan.
• "The attacks resulted in a large wave of displacement among citizens towards the Abu Hitan area and Kadugli, " it remarked.
• The SPLM-N is a breakaway faction of the SPLM, the ruling party of neighbouring South Sudan.

Notably, a medical organisation has accused a Sudanese rebel group aligned with the paramilitary Rapid Backing Forces (RSF) of killing 27 residents, including four children, in the southern province of South Kordofan.

In an official note on Tuesday, the Sudan Doctors Network remarked the killings were carried out by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-N) in Qardud and Abu Hamama, areas inhabited by the Otoro tribe in South Kordofan.

Targeting unarmed civilians on ethnic grounds constitutes a "clear violation of international humanitarian law", the group continued, warning that continued violations threatened to turn "the conflict in South Kordofan into a broader ethnic conflict".

Meanwhile, the killings follow intense fighting earlier this year between forces linked to SPLM-N and the Otoro tribe. It is a minority group in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan.

Notably, the ethnic standoff, first instigated by land disputes, adds another layer to the country's ongoing civil war. It broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the RSF.

In practice, the Sudan Doctors Network pressed the international community to exert pressure on SPLM-N leadership to halt attacks on civilians, noting that women were additionally among those wounded in the latest attacks.

Notably, the SPLM-N is a breakaway faction of the SPLM, the ruling party of neighbouring South Sudan.

In practice, the civil war in Sudan has killed at least 59, 000 individuals and forced some 14 million residents from their homes.

Taken together, the developments around dozens killed in rebel attacks on Sudan's Kordofan, medical group says point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.