Authorities aligned with Sudan’s TASIS coalition say they have contained recent violence in Heiban, South Kordofan, following mediation efforts aimed at preventing local tensions from escalating into a wider communal conflict.
The government of the South Kordofan/Nuba Mountains region, controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, said on Thursday that clashes in Jakma, Kain and surrounding areas had been brought under control and that legal measures were being taken against those responsible.
The statement follows earlier intervention by TASIS President Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who called for an immediate halt to the fighting and ordered the establishment of a mechanism to address the causes of the dispute, reopen roads and markets and facilitate humanitarian access.
Al-Hilu, who serves as vice president of TASIS, welcomed Dagalo’s initiative and instructed forces under his command to halt hostilities and support efforts to restore stability.
TASIS-aligned authorities have described the violence primarily as a local communal dispute and have warned against attempts to exploit tensions in order to drag the Nuba Mountains into broader conflict.
In its latest statement, the regional government said officials moved quickly to the affected areas and succeeded in containing the situation before it spread to neighbouring villages and communities.
The government also backed a statement by the Supreme Council of the Allied Hawazma, which said it was coordinating with regional authorities, local officials and other relevant parties to protect civilians and prevent further escalation.
The council said legal and administrative measures were under way to establish the circumstances surrounding the violence, restore rights and hold those responsible accountable.
Regional authorities expressed regret over the deaths caused by the clashes, describing them as unjustified and stressing that the priority was now to preserve social cohesion and prevent retaliatory violence.
The government said security and political authorities were continuing consultations with local communities to reduce tensions and strengthen reconciliation efforts.
TASIS officials have repeatedly presented the Heiban crisis as a test of local conflict-resolution mechanisms rather than a political dispute within the alliance, with senior leaders from both the RSF and SPLM-N backing mediation and de-escalation.
Authorities said the focus would remain on preventing renewed violence, protecting civilians and blocking what they described as efforts to turn isolated local disputes into broader ethnic or communal wars in the region.
