Sudan Doctors Network: SPLM-N Fighters Kill 27, Including 4 Children, in Ethnic Attacks on Otoro Villages

The Sudan Doctors Network reported on August 25, 2026 that fighters of the SPLM-N (al-Hilu faction), an RSF-aligned rebel group, killed 27 people — including four children and several women — in attacks on Qardud and Abu Hamama, villages inhabited by the Otoro tribe in South Kordofan's Nuba Mountains. The group said targeting unarmed civilians on ethnic grounds was 'a clear violation of international humanitarian law' and urged the international community to pressure SPLM-N leadership to halt the attacks, which triggered a new wave of displacement toward Abu Hitan and Kadugli. The killings extend an ethnic standoff between SPLM-N-aligned forces and the Otoro minority rooted in earlier land disputes and clashes reported in Kauda in early August 2026.