KHARTOUM, Sudan/ ISTANBUL

At least 185 people were displaced from the city of Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state in southern Sudan, in one day due to worsening insecurity, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Wednesday.

In a statement, the UN agency said the civilians fled their areas on Tuesday to various locations in Abu Zabad locality in West Kordofan state and Sheikan locality in North Kordofan.

The rising pace of displacement from Kadugli comes as fighting intensifies between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in South Kordofan.

On Monday, the IOM said that 600 people were displaced from Kadugli amid escalating violations by the rebel group.

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