Congo: A rebel group that has refused to ratify a key peace deal opened fire on a town in the southern state of western Kordofan on Wednesday, wounding two officers, according to the Sudanese military.
There have been reports of artillery attacks in Lagawa, some 580 kilometers southwest of the capital Khartoum, after ethnic clashes over a land dispute near the city killed several people last week.
The armed forces claimed in a statement that the shells were randomly fired by Sudan People's Liberation Movement-forces North.
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According to reports, Tuesday's attacks damaged two neighborhoods and a market in Lagawa and injured two members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Force. When the rebel troops launched their attack, the soldiers were able to "force them to retreat," according to the military.
Abdelaziz al-Fakt Hilu, of local SPLM-N rebels based in the untamed Nuba Mountains, did not respond to reports.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, it comes after conflict that erupted on Friday as a result of a "dispute over land ownership" between rival Arab Misriya and Nuba ethnic groups.
The United Nations on Friday reported "12 people killed and 20 injured" in violence, despite Sudan's armed forces reporting five deaths. The rebels refused to participate in the conflict.
According to the United Nations, the city of Lagawa was shelled on Tuesday while the state's governor was "in an effort to defuse the situation". The shelling was "allegedly coming from nearby mountains."
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Since last year's military coup led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan has been grappling with worsening political unrest and a worsening economic crisis. The latest violence takes place during this time.
The 1983–2005 civil war against Khartoum, resulting in a peace settlement for the eventual independence of South Sudan in 2011, was fought by Hilu's SPLM-N, a rebel force.
The administration of President Omar Bashir, which was overthrown in April 2019, is still being fought by the rebel SPLM-N, which still exists in the dormant state of Sudan.
A civil-military transitional government declared a "permanent ceasefire" after Bashir was overthrown. Hilu's faction was one of two opposition groups that refused to ratify the 2020 peace deal.
According to the military, Tuesday's attacks "clearly violated the ceasefire and hostilities agreement."
