Sudan: SPLM-N - Gold Potentially Ignites Fighting in Kauda and Blue Nile

What the report says

Ayin Network, as republished by AllAfrica, reports that a senior Rapid Support Forces (RSF) military and tribal delegation traveled to the Nuba Mountains last Tuesday to help mediate deadly internal clashes involving the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and fighters from the Atoro community. Local leaders said the fighting in Heiban, Kauda and nearby areas in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains has caused heavy casualties, displacement and the burning of villages, though the article notes those figures could not be independently verified by Ayin. Conflict monitor ACLED said it recorded 49 infighting incidents and at least 158 deaths between March and August.

The report says the RSF delegation held separate meetings in Kuya with senior SPLM-N figures, including military chief of staff Izzat Kuku and deputy chairman Jagod Mukwar, after local sources said the sides agreed to pause hostilities for the talks. RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo is said to have formed a joint peace committee with commanders and traditional leaders from Darfur and Kordofan.

Ayin’s reporting links the unrest to competition over land and mining areas, especially gold, in both the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile State. The article says activists and local sources allege armed groups are trying to control mining sites and transport routes, while some community members reject the idea that gold is the only driver and point instead to disputes over borders and local authority. The timing also matters: the fighting has disrupted planting in a region already facing serious food-security pressure.