Arabic version: السيطرة على الذهب ترفع المخاطر في جبال النوبة بالسودان

According to Allafrica, fighting involving the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and local Atoro fighters in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains may be linked to disputes over gold-bearing land, alongside longstanding disagreements over authority, boundaries and land ownership.

A senior military and tribal delegation from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) arrived in the Nuba Mountains last Tuesday to mediate the clashes in Heiban, Kauda and nearby areas. Local tribal leaders said more than 500 Atoro people had been killed, over 25,000 displaced and dozens of villages burned, though Ayin Network said it could not verify those estimates. ACLED recorded 49 incidents of infighting and at least 158 deaths between March and August.

Local sources said the factions agreed to halt hostilities while mediation proceeds. The RSF-led committee held separate talks in Kuya with SPLM-N military chief of staff Izzat Kuku and deputy chairman and Nuba Mountains governor Jagod Mukwar, the Sudan Tribune reported.

In Blue Nile State, activists and local sources said RSF and allied SPLM-N forces control most gold-mining areas in Geisan and Kurmuk. Community activist Ashraf Hassan said the forces control all mines in Geisan and much of Kurmuk, while Buling remains under army control. Miners said Bakuri market in Geisan produces more than 100 kilograms of gold a month.

In the Nuba Mountains, Atoro representatives accused SPLM-N leaders and the RSF of seeking to take land for mining, while the SPLM-N accused the opposing faction of rebelling. Engineer Babiker Mohamed Madawi said clashes occurred around several mining locations. However, political activist Munim Hassan said the core dispute concerns demarcation between tribal areas, not gold. ACLED analyst Ali Mahmoud Ali said fighting during the planting season disrupted agriculture and worsened food-security risks.