SPLM-N Says It Has Retaken Kauda After Mutiny And Communal Violence

Kauda, August 26, 2026 - The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu said it had restored control over Kauda, its key stronghold in the Nuba Mountains, after internal mutinies and inter-communal violence unsettled South Kordofan.

The movement said its forces had re-entered civil administration offices in Kauda and called on the local governor to return. It denied allegations that its fighters executed ethnic Otoro civilians in the Um Heitan area.

The Sudanese Doctors Network said 27 people, including four children, were killed and several others wounded when SPLM-N forces attacked the villages of Al-Gerdoud and Abu Hamama during clashes with Otoro groups. The SPLM-N said about 3,000 displaced Otoro civilians had reached Delami County and that aid had been distributed to them.

The movement also said 200 mutinous Otoro soldiers had been transferred to its military headquarters in Tungoli for administrative and disciplinary procedures after breaking ranks to support their ethnic community.

The unrest reflects deeper land and boundary disputes among local groups in South Kordofan, with competition over artisanal gold mines adding economic stakes to the violence. Continued instability in the Nuba Mountains complicates humanitarian access and raises risks around mineral activity and local governance.