RSF drone, artillery attack kills nine civilians in South Kordofan

(MENAFN) At least nine civilians lost their lives and 17 others were injured following a drone and artillery assault in Sudan’s South Kordofan state that was attributed to the Rapid Support Forces, according to medical officials on Sunday.

A medical network reported that RSF units carried out “deliberate shelling” that struck a military hospital in Dilling as well as multiple civilian sites south of the city, including the Karol and Al-Samasim areas. The group said the operation amounted to a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” which forbids attacks on healthcare facilities and noncombatants.

The organization strongly criticized what it described as “systematic attacks” against hospitals and medical staff, placing full responsibility on RSF leadership for the fatalities, injuries, and what it warned were “grave humanitarian and health consequences.” No immediate response was issued by the RSF regarding the allegations.

Medical officials called on the international community, along with human rights and humanitarian bodies, to act swiftly to safeguard civilians and health infrastructure. They also urged for unrestricted humanitarian access, an end to the siege of South Kordofan, and greater pressure on RSF leaders accused of involvement in the assault.

Separately, migration officials reported that 455 people fled the city of Dilling between Dec. 11 and Dec. 13 as security conditions deteriorated. The spike in displacement comes amid intensifying clashes in South Kordofan involving the Sudanese army, the RSF, and their allied faction, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North.

UN figures indicate that more than 41,000 people were forced to flee violence across North and South Kordofan during November alone. Prolonged fighting has swept across the three Kordofan states—North, West, and South—over recent weeks, driving tens of thousands from their homes.

Across Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF currently controls all five states in the western Darfur region, with the exception of parts of northern North Darfur that remain under army control. The national military maintains authority over most of the other 13 states spanning the south, north, east, and central regions, including the capital, Khartoum.

The war between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has since claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions, deepening one of the region’s most severe humanitarian crises.

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