In southern Sudan’s South Kordofan state, clashes centered on the town of Kauda have killed over 61 people in two weeks, including nine children, the Sudan Doctors Network said May 13. The group said its estimate draws on testimonies its team gathered from survivors in the conflict area, while adding that poor communication made it hard to verify a fuller toll.

The doctors network said the fighting erupted earlier this month between forces linked to the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, known as SPLM-N, and the Otoro tribe in Kauda. It described the fighting as part of Sudan’s broader war, which has gripped the country since 2023 and has reached its fourth year.

SPLM-N leader Abdel Aziz al-Hilu commands the movement and, the AP report said, has aligned his fighters with the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group that is fighting the Sudanese military. The AP report said Sudan’s war has left the military in control of the north, east and central regions, including the country’s Red Sea ports and oil facilities, while the RSF and allies control western Darfur and parts of Kordofan along the border with South Sudan.

The Sudan Doctors Network said that, based on survivor accounts, five women and nine children were among those killed over the past two weeks. The group’s spokesperson, Mohamed Elsheikh, told the Associated Press that poor communication made it difficult to verify the full death toll, which he said is likely higher as fighting continues.

The doctors network also reported civilian harm during the clashes. It said SPLM-N fighters burned homes and shops and looted properties, and that survivors told the group civilians were “indiscriminately targeted.”

The doctors network warned that areas around Kauda had seen “systematic burning” and attacks on civilians, and it said there were no safe corridors for evacuating the wounded or delivering aid. It also said the SPLM-N did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

Beyond Kauda, the AP report described another town in South Kordofan, Dilling. In Dilling, Umm Bakhita Hospital director Omran Teia told the AP that RSF artillery shelling on Tuesday killed seven people and wounded 17, and that civilians were targeted by the paramilitary and SPLM-N.

Both sides in Sudan’s war have been accused by the United Nations and rights groups of atrocities, including ethnic cleansing, extrajudicial killings and sexual violence against civilians, the AP report said. Aid groups have also warned that the true toll could be much higher because access to areas of fighting across Sudan remains limited.