Sudan’s army, rebels clash in South Kordofan, official says

June 18, 2025 (KADUGLI) – Sudan’s army has repelled an attack by a major rebel group in the South Kordofan state, a military commander said on Wednesday, amid reports of escalating troop movements in the strategic region.

The fighting is the latest indication of rising military tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.

The SPLM-N had recently mobilized fighters near Dilling, the state’s second-largest city, while the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have also brought in reinforcements to the area, according to local reports.

Major General Faisal Mukhtar Al-Sayer, the army’s 14th Infantry Division commander in the state capital, Kadugli, told reporters that forces repelled a new SPLM-N attack on the areas of Al-Samasim and Keiga Al-Khail.

“The attacking force was inflicted with losses in lives and equipment,” Al-Sayer said following a state security committee meeting.

South Kordofan’s governor, Mohammed Ibrahim Abdel Karim, accused the SPLM-N of attempting to close a key national road connecting Dilling and Kaduqli. The army had reopened the road in February after a two-year closure.

The governor explained that the attacks targeted locations that are critical for controlling the highway.

“The armed forces and other regular forces were able to repel the aggression,” Abdel Karim said.

The clashes follow another attack on Tuesday, when the army said it fought off an SPLM-N assault on the strategic area of Al-Dashoul, also in South Kordofan, inflicting casualties on the attacking force, according to a military spokesperson.