[This blog was produced for Waging Peace by Mahgoub Tawer, a trustee of the charity, originally from the Nuba Mountains. The featured image is of Waging Peace’s visit to Yida refugee camp just over the border in South Sudan, which houses those fleeing the Nuba Mountains.]
Kadugli, the capital of the Nuba Mountains, is isolated from the world.
Kadugli is about 589 kilometres away from the capital, Khartoum, at the top of one of the mountains extending in the state of South Kordofan, which is the state also known as the Nuba Mountains. It is considered one of the most important commercial centres in the country, and it is known, along with other states, as the ‘gum Arabic’ belt. It contains large quantities of livestock and is connected by roads linking it to the city of El Obeid, and from there to Khartoum. Several tribes live in the city, such as the Nuba, the Hawazma Arabs, the Dajo, the Fallata, and the Borno. Tribes also migrated to it from central and far northern Sudan.
In light of the security conditions and the ongoing war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Kadugli joined the list of cities affected by the war, as fighting continues between the SPLA/M Movement, Abdulaziz Al-Hilu’s wing, and the SAF.
In past weeks, SAF said that it, “repelled an attack on the city of Kadugli, and inflicted losses on the SPLM rebels in lives and equipment, which is the third attack of its kind, without achieving its goal of controlling the strategically located city.” SAF was referring to SPLA/M activity in the west, east, and south of the city, as well as disruptions along the vital road linking Dilling to Kadugli and the rest of northern Sudan.
There has been continuing anxiety, calm, and calls to stop the fighting in South Kordofan.
A resident of the city of Kadugli said, “continuous anxiety and fear dominate the citizens of the city as a result of the violent clashes” between SAF and the SPLA/M, noting that “several homes were hit by shells in the past days. Hundreds of families were displaced from the east to the west of the city and were distributed.” Some civilians have been forced to live in the open or under the shade of trees, so falling shells have led to death and injury.
One of the citizens stated, “the suffering of the population increased with the closure of the Kadugli-Dilling road […] which led to scarcity and an increase in the prices of goods because merchants use more expensive alternative methods. The medicine market also witnessed a scarcity of many medicines, including medicines for diseases.” They stressed that Kadugli needs security and stability in goods and a guarantee of food supply.
The British organisation Save the Children is ringing the alarm bell. They have said that emergency food supplies have run out for children and families living in siege-like conditions in Kadugli.
Since the fighting escalated in the city since 14 August more than 50,000 people – including at least 30,000 children – have been forced to move from their places of residence to other places throughout Kadugli. The fighting has also hindered cccess to many main roads creating a siege-like situation, as food stocks in the city were completely exhausted, attempts to bring in more supplies failed, and medical services stopped.
To learn more about the humanitarian conditions suffered by the citizens of Kadugli, please visit this link.
