The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed at least 9 civilians in Sudan’s South Kordofan state, in intensified artillery and drone shelling.
The Kordofan region, with its three states, has become the epicenter of fierce fighting between the RSF and its allied militias on one side and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on the other, exacerbating the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in war-torn Sudan.
Striking Dilling
The Sudan Doctors Network – a professional body of doctors that tracks the conflict and provides community services across Sudan – announced on Sunday that RSF “deliberate” artillery and drone shelling on South Kordofan state had killed at least 9 civilians and wounded 17 others, including medical personnel.
The shelling targeted Al-Dilling Military Hospital and other civilian locations, including the Al-Kargal and Al-Samasim areas south of Dilling – the second largest city in South Kordofan, the group said in a statement, noting that this constitutes a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”
The RSF drone attacks also hit the 54th Brigade command and civilian areas near the city’s market, reported Sudan Tribune. This attack on Dilling coincided with an RSF military buildup in the areas of Dibebat, Al-Hammadi, and Habila, signaling an imminent large-scale ground offensive on Dilling, according to sources.
Strong Condemnation
The medical group denounced strikes on civilian infrastructure, blaming the RSF for these attacks.
“The Sudan Doctors Network strongly condemns this systematic targeting of health institutions and healthcare workers, and holds the RSF leadership fully responsible for these crimes and their grave humanitarian and health consequences,” the group said in its statement.
Moreover, the group called on the international community and human rights organizations to take urgent action to protect civilians and medical facilities, ensure unimpeded access for humanitarian aid, and lift the siege on South Kordofan State.
It also urged increased pressure on RSF leaders responsible for these attacks.
Shelling in Kadugli
Kadugli, the capital city of South Kordofan state, has seen intensive artillery shelling by RSF ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) forces, Sudan Tribune reported.
The targets included the city’s main market, the vicinity of the army’s 14th Infantry Division headquarters, and western districts, leaving an unidentified number of civilian casualties.
On Saturday, a drone strike hit the UN logistics base in Kadugli, killing 6 peacekeepers and wounding eight others, all of Bangladeshi nationality. The attack has sparked wide condemnation, with the UN chief indicating that the attack constitutes a “war crime.”
In November 2025, famine was declared in Kadugli due to the SPLM-N blocking key supply routes and RSF advancements in North Kordofan halting medical supplies to the south.
As a result of dire humanitarian conditions and SPLM-N tight siege on the city, Sudanese civilians are seeking refuge in safer places in the north. Hence, they flee to Dilling, in an attempt to reach Al-Obeid, traveling across RSF-held territories where they face killing, looting and detentions.
New Displacement Wave
Heavy fighting and increased insecurity have driven more Sudanese to flee South Kordofan. In the light of this, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported a new displacement wave from 4 regions in South Kordofan.
On Sunday, the IOM said that 825 civilians fled the city of Qadir, 455 fled Dilling, and 265 fled Kadugli in the period between December 11 and December 13. The displaced individuals sought refuge in several places in North Kordofan and Khartoum.
The Kordofan region, comprising of North, South and West Kordofan states, has become a battleground for fierce fighting between the SAF and the RSF, most notably after the RSF captured El-Fasher in October. The paramilitary group has been pushing to capture the entire region, which serves as a strategic corridor linking Khartoum and central Sudan to Darfur.
The war in Sudan, which broke out in April 2023, has driven the country into effective partition, with the SAF controlling the center, north and east, and the RSF holding the entire Darfur region and parts of Kordofan in the south, with each side declaring a government.
The conflict has also triggered the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crisis, killing tens of thousands of people, displacing over 12 million inside Sudan and to neighboring countries, and pushing parts of the country into famine amid cholera outbreaks.
