Nuba Mountains Truce Strains After Kauda Shelling Allegations

Kauda, August 22, 2026 - A ceasefire effort in Sudan's Nuba Mountains came under immediate strain after the Otoro tribe accused the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North of shelling Kauda, threatening mediation aimed at stopping months of deadly communal violence.

SPLM-N leader Abdelaziz al-Hilu had ordered his forces on Friday to halt hostilities in Kauda and Heiban county after an initiative by Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The directive called for an end to armed operations, inflammatory rhetoric and incitement so that social and humanitarian mediation could proceed.

The order followed accusations that SPLM-N fighters attacked Otoro-populated areas, burned homes across about eight villages and drove civilians into nearby mountains. Community leaders also said 26 Otoro aid workers have been detained since April in rebel-controlled facilities without family visits, with local tribal bodies demanding their release.

On Saturday, acting Otoro traditional leader Koko al-Dujail Damjala said Kauda was hit from late Friday into Saturday morning with 120mm mortars and 23mm anti-aircraft guns fired from an SPLM-N base in the nearby Al-Gadeel area. He called the shelling a violation of the truce and urged mediators to enforce the ceasefire, while saying Otoro fighters reserved the right to defend civilians.

The violence underscores the fragmentation of armed authority in South Kordofan, where communal tensions between the Otoro and Shawaya have increasingly intersected with rebel military structures. For Sudan's risk outlook, the episode highlights how local conflicts can complicate national mediation efforts and prolong insecurity in strategic border and mining-adjacent regions.