At least five people, including a child, were killed and several others injured after artillery shelling struck residential areas and civilian facilities in Dilling, South Kordofan, on Friday, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.
The medical group accused the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North faction led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu of carrying out the attack, saying southern and western parts of the city were targeted.
The SPLM-N is aligned with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which is fighting the Sudanese army in a conflict that began in April 2023.
The Sudan Doctors Network described the bombardment as a violation of international humanitarian norms protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Dilling, South Kordofan’s second-largest city, was under siege by the RSF and SPLM-N for nearly two years before the Sudanese army announced on Jan. 26 that it had reopened the road to the city.
Despite the lifting of the siege, Dilling has continued to face artillery shelling and drone attacks as fighting between the army and the RSF-SPLM-N alliance persists.
The SPLM-N joined the RSF and other groups in signing a charter in Nairobi in February 2025 to establish a parallel authority, with al-Hilu later appointed deputy to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in its presidential council.
The Dilling attack followed separate violence near Kauda, where the medical network said SPLM-N forces attacked Debi and Luweri on Thursday, killing more than 21 people, including women and children.
The group said those attacks targeted the Otoro tribe in the Nuba Mountains.
The latest violence follows attacks on at least 10 Otoro villages between August 20 and 26 that displaced thousands of civilians.
The escalation comes as South Kordofan has become a major front in Sudan’s wider conflict.
A United Nations-backed fact-finding mission warned Thursday that external supply networks, foreign personnel and military drones were worsening violence against civilians across Sudan.
The wider war has killed tens of thousands, displaced approximately 13 million people and left nearly 34 million requiring urgent humanitarian assistance.