UN: At least 80 people killed in southern Sudan violence
Renewed fighting broke out last week in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile between the army and a faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North.

A boy, who lost his right arm in an attack near his home in Kadugli, is pictured in an IDP Camp within the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North controlled area in Boram County, Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan, June 22, 2024. / Photo: Reuters
The United Nations warned that two southern Sudan states were "on the brink of catastrophe" after a recent eruption of violence reportedly killed at least 80 people in one city.
United Nations resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan Clementine Nkweta-Salami said on Thursday that the fighting had reportedly claimed at least 80 lives in South Kordofan state capital Kadugli alone.
"I condemn the reported use of women and children as human shields in Kadugli, the obstruction of humanitarian aid, and the detention of civilians including children," the UN's most senior official in the country said in a statement.
Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces have been fighting since mid-April 2023, a war that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced approximately 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities.
Hilu's unaffiliated faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu has clashed with both since the war broke out.
Civilians targeted
In recent days, the army and the SPLM-N have accused each other of launching attacks and targeting civilians in an attempt to capture territory.
The UN warned the escalating violence would only worsen the already dire humanitarian situation, with millions cut off from life-saving aid.
"The consequences of food insecurity are already being felt in parts of South Kordofan, where families are surviving on dangerously limited food supplies, and malnutrition rates are rising sharply," Thursday's statement said.
Around half a million people are currently on the brink of famine in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
The UN-backed assessment has already declared famine in parts of the Nuba Mountains, where SPLM-N maintains a foothold.
Across the country, fighting since April 2023 has killed tens of thousands, uprooted 12 million and pushed nearly 26 million people into acute food insecurity.