Press Release from OCHA - OCHASudan@un.org
Flash Update No. 01
Dated Tuesday 22 August 2023 - here is a full copy:
SUDAN: SAF & SPLM-N clashes in Kadugli, South Kordofan,
Flash Update No. 01 (22 August 2023)
Clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Kadugli Town, South Kordofan State
HIGHLIGHTS
• Renewed clashes between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been reported in Kadugli Town in recent days.
• The government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) in South Kordofan reports that an estimated 6,700 people fled their homes to another part of the town following clashes on 14 August.
• During the fighting, two humanitarian compounds were hit by stray bullets.
• There is a dire shortage of food and nutrition supplies in Kadugli Town.
• Conflict between the SPLM-N and the SAF has been ongoing since mid-June 2023.
The relocation of critical counterparts has led to the disruption of life-saving interventions.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
On 14 August, clashes between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) Al Hilu faction and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) were reported near the Hajr Al-Maak neighbourhood in Kadugli Town, the state capital of South Kordofan State, forcing at least 6,700 people to flee to Al Radaif neighbourhood in the west of the town, according to the government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) in South Kordofan. These numbers have yet to be verified. In addition, two humanitarian compounds, as well as many public buildings, were hit by stray bullets during the clashes. Humanitarian staff have been advised to restrict their movements in Kadugli Town.
The humanitarian situation is dire for vulnerable populations in Kadugli. Due to the insecurity, aid workers traveling from out of the area are not able to reach the town. Humanitarian food stocks in Kadugli Town have been depleted, and attempts to bring in more supplies have failed due to insecurity along the road from Dilling to Kadugli and due to the blocking of the road into the town by the SPLM-N. The last food distributions for three months were in May, and those supplies will only last families until the end of this month. Other humanitarian stocks in Kadugli, especially health and nutrition supplies, are also running low.
On 16 August 2023, there were renewed clashes between the SAF and SPLM-N in Kadugli Town, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). Due to the fighting and shelling, residents in affected neighbourhoods have reportedly fled to the centre and west of Kadugli Town. The number of people affected is not yet known.
Fighting between the SPLM-N Al Hilu faction and SAF has been ongoing and escalating in the state since 17 June 2023. To date, nine out of 17 localities have been affected by the clashes, resulting in the displacement of more than 69,400 people.
Background
Kadugli Town is the state capital of South Kordofan State and is located in Kadugli locality. An estimated 160,000 displaced people live in the locality, of whom about 100,000 needed humanitarian assistance even before the conflict, according to the 2023 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO).
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Further Reading
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Leaders Abdelaziz al-Hilu; Malik Agar.
Founded 2011
Split from Sudan People's Liberation Movement
Ideology New Sudan
National affiliation Sudan Revolutionary Front
Politics of Sudan
Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North or SPLM–N, is a political party and militant organisation in the Republic of Sudan, based in the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
As of 2017, its two factions, SPLM-N (Agar) and SPLM-N (al-Hilu) were engaged in fighting each other and against the government of Sudan.
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Abdelaziz Adam Al-Hilu born 7 July 1954) is a Sudanese politician and the current chairperson of the Sudan People's Liberation Army – SPLA–North.
Biography
Al-Hilu was born in Al-Faydh Umm Abdullah, South Kordofan. He is considered one of the most successful SPLA/M commanders in the history of the SPLA and worked with South Sudan's Leader John Garang in an aim to create a Sudan that is democratic, fair and free to all Sudanese population.
He was born, raised and educated in the Nuba Mountains. He studied Economics in the University of Khartoum, and graduated in 1979. He lost the election for governor of South Kordofan to Ahmed Haroun in a poll rejected by the SPLA as rigged. He had been fighting the Sudan People's Armed Forces in the South Kordofan conflict.
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Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 May 2023
Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
Preceded by Hemedti
Member of the Transitional Sovereignty Council
Governor of Blue Nile State
April 2010 – 2 September 2011
Born Nganyofa Agar Eyre Nganyofa
Ingessana Hills, Blue Nile State, Republic of Sudan
Political party SPLM-N
Occupation Politician, soldier
Military service
Allegiance Sudan People's Liberation Movement
Years of service 1983 - present
Battles/wars Second Sudanese Civil War
Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile
Malik Agar is a Sudanese politician and insurgent leader active in the insurgency in Blue Nile state. Since 2023, he has been the deputy chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Sudan's ruling military junta.
Malik Agar was born Nganyofa Agar Eyre Nganyofa to an Ingessana chief in Blue Nile State. He did not know he was a Muslim until he was eight. His headteacher gave him the name "Malik" and told him he was a Muslim. From that day on, he was called "Malik Agar Eyre."
Second Sudanese Civil War
Agar joined the Sudanese armed opposition shortly after the beginning of the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983.
In the 1990s, he was the commander of a section of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) military forces along the Ethiopia-Sudan border south of the Blue Nile to Geissan. SPLM units under his command captured the towns of Kurmuk and Qaissan in 1997.
Agar was close to John Garang, and shared his goal of overthrowing the Sudanese government, as opposed to fighting for the secession of South Sudan. After Garang's death, Agar, along with others who shared a desire for a revolution in Sudan, were marginalised by the new SPLM leadership. Agar expressed his disapproval of the secession of South Sudan to a US official in 2009, stating that it would cause the eventual splintering of the rest of Sudan.
Post-Civil War
He was elected governor of Blue Nile State in the Republic of the Sudan in April 2010. Agar was one of the few high-profile members of the Sudanese opposition to run in the election, and was the only non-NCP candidate to win a governorship. Agar defeated the NCP candidate, Farah Ibrahim Mohamed Al-Aggar, by 108,119 to 99,417 votes.
In February 2011 Malik Agar also became chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (northern sector), the part of the SPLM that operates in northern Sudan. The SPLM-NS became a separate political party when Southern Sudan seceded from the Republic of Sudan in July 2011.
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