The United Nations warned that two southern Sudanese regions were “on the verge of disaster” following a recent outbreak of violence that killed at least 80 people in one city. Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the United Nations resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said on Thursday that the battle has taken at least 80 deaths in South Kordofan’s capital Kadugli alone. “I condemn the reported use of women and children as human shields in Kadugli, the obstruction of humanitarian aid, and the detention of civilians including children,” the United Nations’ most senior officer in the nation said in a statement.

Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces have been fighting since mid-April 2023, a war that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced approximately 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities. Hilu’s unaffiliated faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu has clashed with both since the war broke out.