Five people, including a child, were killed and many others injured in artillery fire in the city of Dilling in Sudan’s South Kordofan state on Friday morning.
The Sudan Doctors Network said the attack targeted civilian facilities and neighborhoods in the southern and western parts of the city. The network also held the faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, responsible for the attack.
The Sudan Doctors Network said attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure were clear violations of international norms.
Siege and fighting in Dilling
Dilling, South Kordofan’s second-largest city, is a conflict zone surrounded by parts of the Nuba Mountains controlled by the SPLM-N faction led by al-Hilu.
The city remained under siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the SPLM-N for nearly two years. The Sudanese army announced that the road leading to Dilling had been reopened following an operation it carried out on January 26.
Fighting between the Sudanese army, the RSF and the SPLM-N continued in the city after the siege was lifted, while artillery fire and drone attacks also continued.
Alliance in South Kordofan
The SPLM-N faction led by al-Hilu signed a declaration in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, in February 2025 with the RSF and other political and armed groups that envisaged establishing a parallel government in Sudan.
The alliance announced in July 2025 that a presidential council had been formed for the parallel government under the leadership of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Al-Hilu was appointed deputy head of the council.
Fighting in South Kordofan has intensified in recent months, making the region one of the main fronts in Sudan’s war. The war between the Sudanese army and the RSF began on April 15, 2023, following disputes over the transition process and disagreements over integrating the paramilitary group into the army, and spread across large parts of the country.
