South Kordofan villagers protest as fragile truce between SPLM-N and Otoro frays
August 29, 2026 (KAUDA) — Hundreds of villagers marched near Kauda in Sudan’s South Kordofan state on Saturday to demand an end to clashes, as the Otoro tribe accused the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) of violating an informal ceasefire.
The unrest in Heiban County has continued despite a mediation push by Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, alongside local religious and civic leaders.
Both the SPLM-N, led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, and Otoro tribal fighters had informally agreed to halt hostilities without signing a formal pact.
The protest took place in the village of Kajoor Al-Shaabiya, drawing members of local women’s and youth associations, veterans, and tribal figures, witnesses told Sudan Tribune.
Demonstrators urged communities across Heiban to back the peace initiative and warned that renewed violence risked deepening internal divisions among the Nuba population.
The clashes stem from border demarcation disputes dating back to 2020, which escalated after some SPLM-N officers and soldiers broke ranks to back the Otoro tribe.
Local sources say the land disputes are closely tied to competition over access to nearby artisanal gold mines.
The chieftaincy of the Otoro tribe accused the SPLM-N’s military wing of breaching the truce by moving combat units into Kauda over the past 48 hours.
Otoro Paramount Chief Koko Al-Daqir Damjala said in a statement that an SPLM-N reconnaissance patrol entered Kauda on Aug. 27 and detonated a fuel station, wounding 28 civilians clearing farmland nearby.
Damjala said a separate unit of five combat vehicles entered the town on Aug. 28, looted commercial stores, and advanced toward the compound of the aid agency Samaritan’s Purse before being repelled by stationed guards.
A 45-year-old civilian woman was wounded in her garden during the exchange of fire and taken to a local clinic, according to the statement.
Damjala said the incursions threatened to derail peace efforts, demanded an immediate halt to all troop movements, and called for an independent investigation into the incidents while maintaining his group’s right to self-defence.