At least 16 civilians were killed when RSF and allied SPLM‑N artillery struck residential areas of Dilling, South Kordofan, deepening a surge of violence that has killed over 100 people in the region since early December. The bombardment has worsened conditions in a city besieged for more than two years and dealing with cholera and dengue outbreaks. More than 50,000 people have fled Kordofan since late October, and UN reports allege mass atrocities by RSF in Darfur, prompting international alarm and renewed diplomatic efforts.
RSF Artillery Strike Kills 16 Civilians in Dilling as Kordofan Violence Intensifies
The war in Sudan has triggered a vast humanitarian emergency in the country [File: Ebrahim Hamid/AFP]
At least 16 civilians were killed when artillery rounds struck the besieged city of Dilling in South Kordofan, the Sudan Doctors Network reported, marking a fresh and deadly escalation in fighting across the region.
The medical group said the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied fighters from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement‑North (SPLM‑N) shelled residential districts over two days, killing women, children and elderly residents. The network condemned the strikes as deliberate attacks on civilians and urged urgent international pressure to stop assaults on populated areas.
The Dilling attack is part of a widening campaign of violence across Kordofan that has killed more than 100 civilians since early December as fighting shifts from Darfur toward Sudan’s central heartland — a region many analysts say could determine the conflict’s broader outcome.
The bombardment has compounded a dire humanitarian and health crisis in a city under siege for more than two years. Local health services were already overwhelmed by concurrent cholera and dengue fever outbreaks, and the recent strikes have further strained hospitals and clinics.
Displacement and Humanitarian Impact
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 50,000 people have fled violence across Kordofan’s three states since late October, when the RSF captured a major army base and stepped up operations. Some 710 people were displaced from Dilling alone, many arriving in neighbouring areas with nothing after what UN refugee officials called “unspeakable horrors.”
Wider Context And Allegations Of Atrocities
UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned that history appears to be “repeating itself” in Kordofan, drawing parallels with mass atrocities seen in Darfur — including in el‑Fasher, which the UN has described as a “crime scene.” A UN report released this week detailed how RSF fighters killed more than 1,000 civilians during a three‑day assault on the Zamzam displaced persons camp in Darfur in April, finding that sexual violence was used deliberately as a tool of terror.
On December 13, a drone strike on a base in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers. UN Secretary‑General António Guterres said the attack “may constitute war crimes,” and the UN mission subsequently evacuated its logistics base in Kadugli after concluding the security situation was untenable.
Both the RSF and government‑aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been accused of committing atrocities during the conflict. The fighting erupted in April 2023 after a power struggle between SAF chief Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, and some monitors estimate the war has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced roughly 14 million — a humanitarian catastrophe the UN calls the world’s largest.
Regional Diplomacy
Against this backdrop, General al‑Burhan travelled to Cairo, where Egyptian authorities warned they would not allow “red lines” in neighbouring Sudan to be crossed, citing concerns about territorial integrity and the emergence of parallel authorities after the RSF declared a rival administration in Darfur. Egypt said it could invoke provisions of a 1976 joint defence pact to protect national security, which it described as tightly linked to Sudan’s stability.
Egypt supported renewed diplomatic efforts involving US and regional officials to press for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire. Sudanese authorities, UN experts and independent monitors have accused the United Arab Emirates of backing the RSF — allegations Abu Dhabi has repeatedly denied.
Humanitarian Appeal: The Sudan Doctors Network has urged the international community to pressure all armed groups to halt attacks on civilians immediately and to open safe humanitarian corridors for those trapped by the fighting.
