An Otoro community leader in Sudan’s South Kordofan has said more than 500 members of his community have been killed during six months of fighting around Kauda, urging the TASIS administration to intervene in the conflict involving one of its principal military allies.
Koko al-Diqair Damjala, the Otoro paramount chief, told Sudan Tribune that more than 25,000 people had been displaced by the violence, with many seeking shelter in forests and caves amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
The conflict has involved Otoro fighters and forces affiliated with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, which is a member of the Sudan Founding Alliance (TASIS).
Damjala alleged that elements within the SPLM-N leadership had carried out arrests and abuses against members of his community, accusing some commanders of using accusations of rebellion to justify military operations.
He estimated that more than 350 Otoro community members had been detained since April, including humanitarian workers, civil servants, traders and military personnel.
The chief said the number of detainees remained difficult to establish because some had been released while the whereabouts of others remained unknown.
The casualty figures and allegations have not been independently verified.
The latest claims follow a September 23 incident in which Otoro traditional leaders accused SPLM-N forces of killing eight detainees at a detention facility in the Nuba Mountains. The community demanded an independent investigation into those deaths.
TASIS mediation efforts
Despite the accusations against SPLM-N commanders, Damjala said the Otoro community remained committed to the movement’s wider political project and did not consider itself to be in rebellion against the organisation.
He called for renewed mediation involving SPLM-N deputy chairman Jagoud Mukwar and an initiative established by RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo to resolve the dispute.
Damjala said his community welcomed Dagalo’s intervention and remained open to cooperation with the RSF and other TASIS factions.
He also urged the TASIS administration to help secure a settlement, warning that continued fighting could deepen divisions between communities in the Nuba Mountains.
The SPLM-N has previously denied targeting Otoro civilians. In an August statement, the movement maintained that its operations were directed against armed rebels rather than the community as a whole. Its earlier denial does not address the latest casualty estimate.
