More than 1,600 Sudanese civilians fled the town of Kertala in South Kordofan in a single day as insecurity escalated alongside rising abuses by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The United Nations agency said on Sunday that field teams from its Displacement Tracking Matrix estimated that 1,625 people left Kertala on November 28 because of worsening security conditions linked to RSF violations.

This latest wave of displacement follows RSF attacks, supported by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), on several villages in South Kordofan, including the abduction of young people for forced recruitment.

The three Kordofan states – North, West and South – have seen weeks of fierce fighting between the army and the RSF, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee, according to human rights groups.

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF controls all five states of the Darfur region in the west, except for some northern parts of North Darfur that remain under army control.

The army, in turn, holds most areas in the remaining 13 states in the south, north, east and centre, including the capital, Khartoum.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million, according to the World Health Organization.

Neighbouring Chad has become a refuge for tens of thousands escaping the conflict.