South Kordofan Governor Issa Adam Abakar says that more than 20 civilians were killed Thursday evening in an attack by SPLA-N troops on a gold mine located in the south of the state near the border with the Republic of South Sudan.
He added that the attacking forces looted all the property of the citizens and burned the place.
South Kordofan state has witnessed occasional clashes between the Sudanese army and fighters from SPLA-N. The rebel group announced two weeks ago that they captured a military garrison described as strategic.
Radio Tamazuj was yesterday not able to reach the SPLA-N spokesman for comment.
Separately, Sudanese government militia were accused of killing two civilian traders in South Kordofan near the border with West Kordofan.
File photo: Children work in the processing site at a gold mine in South Sudan (by Marcus Bleasdale / Human Rights Watch)