Militias (Hemeidti–El-Hilu) Attack Gold Mine, Kidnap 150 Young People Including Children

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N, El-Hilu faction) attacked the Zallataya gold mine in South Kordofan, abducting more than 150 young people, including minors.

The Sudan Doctors’ Network strongly condemned the heinous crime carried out by forces affiliated with the SPLM-N (El-Hilu faction) and elements of the RSF militia following the attack on Zallataya mine in the Tabasa administrative unit of Al-Abbasiya Locality, South Kordofan state. The incident marks the first blatant violation of the unilaterally declared humanitarian truce.

According to confirmed field reports received by the network, over 150 young people and several minors were forcibly abducted for recruitment purposes, in a direct assault on civilians that constitutes war crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law.

The Sudan Doctors’ Network held the SPLM-N and the RSF fully responsible for this crime. The network described the targeting of civilians, particularly children, as inhumane and a flagrant breach of all international conventions, stressing that such acts do not fall under statutes of limitations. It called for the immediate accountability of those responsible.

The network demanded the unconditional release of all abductees and an end to all forms of forced recruitment, urging immediate humanitarian access to the area to provide medical care and relief to affected communities.

Furthermore, the Sudan Doctors’ Network called on the United Nations, international organizations, and relevant regional bodies to intervene urgently to halt these violations. The network also noted that this operation was not the first of its kind, citing prior cases of forced recruitment in the Tabasa town market and looting in the area.