Nine Civilians, Including Three Children, Killed in Shelling of Sudan’s South Kordofan

Nine civilians, among them three children, were killed and several others wounded on Wednesday after artillery shelling struck the city of Dilling in Sudan’s South Kordofan state, according to the Sudanese nongovernmental Nuba Mountains Platform. The group said residential neighborhoods were targeted, resulting in the deaths of six adults and three children.

In a statement, the platform accused forces of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu and allied with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), of carrying out the bombardment. It added that Sudanese army units later launched an attack on the Taital area in South Kordofan, from where the artillery fire was launched, and claimed to have taken control of the area. As of now, neither the Sudanese army nor the SPLM-N faction or its RSF allies have commented on the report.

Dilling and the nearby city of Kadugli have been under siege by the RSF and the SPLM-N faction since the early months of the war that began more than two years ago, and have repeatedly come under artillery and drone attacks. Fighting has intensified across the three Kordofan states—North, West, and South—forcing tens of thousands to flee, while the broader conflict between the army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has killed thousands and displaced millions across Sudan.