Fighting breaks out in Southern Sudanese states, killing 80
(FILES) Fighters of the Sudan Liberation Movement, a Sudanese rebel group active in Sudan's Darfur State which supports army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, attend a graduation ceremony in the southeastern Gedaref state on March 28, 2024. - A year after Sudan's rival generals went to war, plunging the country into a storm of mass displacement, famine, sexual and ethnic violence, experts see no end in sight. The United Nations says the country -- already one of the world's poorest -- is experiencing "one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory" and "the world's largest displacement crisis", and is on track to become "the world's worst hunger crisis". (Photo by AFP)
The United Nations announced that at least 80 people have been killed amid renewed violence in southern Sudan, according to Middle East Eye on February 11th.
The deaths come in the wake of renewed violence in southern Sudan at the beginning of last week between the army and a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).
The fighting has taken place in the southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile with the most intense conflict being witnessed in Kadugli, the state capital of South Kordofan where 80 people lost their lives.
UN officials report that the ongoing violence has forced thousands of civilians to leave their homes as they seek sanctuary in adjacent areas.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has demanded an end to hostilities as fears grow over the potential collapse of the two southern states.
Whilst the UN has requested for a dialogue to be initiated between the two groups, at the present moment that appears unforthcoming – the UN has also asked that all armed groups allow for humanitarian aid to have access to the region as civilians suffer against the conflict.
Along with the UN, the African Union and other regional partners has asked for stability and requested that peace talks between the two groups begin.
Local authorities have deployed security forces throughout the region in an attempt to prevent a spread in the fighting.
Experts on the region along with local officials fear an escalation in the conflict as skirmishes break out across remote areas of the two southern states.
Humanitarian resources are already stretched in the region and an escalation in the conflict could have dire consequences for the civilian population.
Humanitarian organisations are currently able to conduct damage assessments whilst delivery humanitarian aid however it is feared that access to the region will become more dangerous if the violence continues.
The threat of humanitarian aid being looted is of concern to the UN who, along with world leaders and regional authorities, continue to monitor the situation closely.
Middle East Monitor
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