New army-SPLM-N clashes reported in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains

A number of army soldiers and rebel fighters were killed in an attack by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu (SPLM-N El Hilu) on Dalami in South Kordofan on Wednesday.

Radio Dabanga source Abdelrahim Kunda reported that a SPLM-N El Hilu unit stationed about seven kilometres east of Dalami carried out an attack on Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) positions in the town on Wednesday morning.

In the ensuring battle, an unknown number of army soldiers and rebel combatants were killed and wounded, the source said.

SAF spokesperson Brig Nabil Abdallah stated on social media that the army unit in Dalami managed to repel the attack.

Fighting between the SAF and SPLM-N El Hilu resumed in Kadugli, capital of South Kordofan, last Friday, when SAF soldiers launched a counterattack on the movement’s military positions east of Kadugli Airport and in the mountains behind Hajar El Mek.

The area had witnessed a cautious calm for more than a week following fierce battles between the two parties.

The clashes in and around Kadugli continued on Sunday, Kunda said. Kahliyat, west of Kadugli, also witnessed fighting that day.

Most residents of neighbourhoods in the firing line have fled. “Those living in areas further away from army bases slowly returned to their homes this week. Many others still remain displaced,” the source added.

The war between the SAF and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that erupted in Khartoum and the western parts of the country on April 15, reached the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan in mid-June. Almost simultaneously, the SPLM-N El Hilu began attacking army positions in the western parts of South Kordofan and the area of Kurmuk in Blue Nile region.