Khartoum: More than 1,000 Sudanese civilians have fled Hilla Birno village in South Kordofan as insecurity worsened amid escalating violations by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Wednesday. The UN agency reported that field teams estimated 1,040 people had left the village due to deteriorating security conditions, relocating to multiple sites across the Eastern Rural and Kadugli localities in South Kordofan.

According to Anadolu Agency, the IOM warned of a highly volatile and unstable situation. The organization further indicated that at least 1,455 people had fled South Kordofan in the past three days due to rising violence in the area. This new wave of displacement followed attacks by the RSF, supported by its ally, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, on several villages within the state.

The three Kordofan states-North, West, and South-have witnessed heavy fighting in recent weeks between the Sudanese army and the RSF, resulting in the displacement of tens of thousands. Currently, the RSF controls all five Darfur states, while the army maintains control over most of the remaining 13 states, including Khartoum. Darfur constitutes about one-fifth of Sudan's territory, yet the majority of the country's 50 million people reside in army-held areas.

The conflict in Sudan, which erupted between the army and the RSF in April 2023, has claimed at least 40,000 lives and displaced 12 million people, according to the World Health Organization.