In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Sudan Doctors Network reported that members of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) rebel group had killed 27 civilians, including four children, in South Kordofan, Sudan. The attacks occurred in Qardud and Abu Hamama, inhabited by the Otoro tribe, resulting in a wave of displacement towards the Abu Hitan area and Kadugli. The SPLM-N's targeting of unarmed civilians on ethnic grounds was denounced as a clear violation of international humanitarian law. The conflict in South Kordofan risks escalating into an ethnic conflict due to such violations. This latest incident follows intense fighting earlier this year between the SPLM-N and the Otoro tribe, adding another layer to Sudan's ongoing civil war, which broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The SPLM-N, a breakaway faction of South Sudan's ruling party, is led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, who has allied with the RSF and the RSF-led parallel government in Sudan. The ongoing civil war has claimed at least 59,000 lives and displaced some 14 million people, with 33.7 million people (two-thirds of the country's population) requiring humanitarian assistance, according to the World Health Organization. The international community is urged to pressure the SPLM-N leadership to halt attacks on civilians, as women were also among those wounded in the latest attacks.