9 killed in RSF drone attack on Sudan’s South Kordofan, medics say

ISTANBUL

At least nine Sudanese civilians were killed and 17 others wounded in a drone and artillery attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in South Kordofan state, a medical group said Sunday.

In a statement posted on the US social media company X, the Sudan Doctors Network said the RSF carried out “deliberate shelling” that struck Dilling military hospital and several civilian locations south of the city, including the Karol and Al-Samasim areas.

The group described the attack as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” which prohibits targeting health facilities and civilians.

The network condemned what it called “systematic attacks” on medical institutions and health workers and held the RSF leadership fully responsible for the deaths, injuries and their “grave humanitarian and health consequences.”

There was no immediate comment from the RSF.

The medical group urged the international community and human rights and humanitarian 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 called for increased pressure on RSF leaders accused of responsibility for the attack.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Sunday that 455 people fled the city of Dilling between Dec. 11 and Dec. 13 because of escalating insecurity.

The rise in displacement in South Kordofan comes as fighting intensifies between the Sudanese army and the RSF, along with their ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).

UN estimates show that more than 41,000 people fled escalating violence in North and South Kordofan during November.

The three Kordofan states – North, West, and South – have seen weeks of fierce fighting between the army and the RSF, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee.

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF controls all five states of the Darfur region in the west, except for some northern parts of North Darfur that remain under army control. The army, in turn, holds most areas of the remaining 13 states in the south, north, east, and center, including the capital, Khartoum.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has since killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.