Conflict catalog

2011 South Kordofan and Blue Nile Conflict: Weapons and Equipment

A post-2011 Sudanese conflict centered on South Kordofan and Blue Nile, involving Sudanese state forces and SPLM-N-aligned armed groups after South Sudan's independence.

The 2011 South Kordofan and Blue Nile Conflict began in 2011 as fighting between Sudanese government forces and SPLM-N-linked rebels spread across Sudan's southern borderlands. The catalog scope is narrow: it covers sourced equipment use in South Kordofan, Blue Nile, and closely connected border fighting rather than the wider current 2023 Sudan War.

This catalog tracks weapon systems directly documented in the 2011 South Kordofan and Blue Nile Conflict after the 2011 split between Sudan and South Sudan.

Entries should connect equipment to source-backed use, loss, capture, or fielding by Sudanese government forces or SPLM-N-aligned rebel forces in the two border regions.

6 weapon systems

Conflict Actors

Sudanese Armed Forces / SPLM-N and allied rebels

SPLM-N and allied rebels

3 weapon systems in this catalog
  • SPLM-N and allied rebels

Context

Status
Published catalog
Location
South Kordofan and Blue Nile, Sudan
Countries
Sudan
Regions
South Kordofan, Blue Nile, Nuba Mountains
Domains
land, air, UAV, border clashes

The connected weapon catalog should stay tied to direct field evidence, because open-source visibility in South Kordofan and Blue Nile is uneven. Current coverage includes documented Sudanese Armed Forces UAV use and should expand only when sources directly identify specific equipment in this conflict scope.

Map

South Kordofan and Blue Nile, Sudan

Open map

Map data from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Timeline

Key Events

  1. Fighting begins in South Kordofan

    International Crisis Group dates the outbreak of fighting in South Kordofan to June 2011, after tensions between Sudanese authorities and SPLM-N-linked forces escalated.

    Sources: ICG War in South Kordofan

  2. Conflict expands into Blue Nile

    Refworld and Crisis Group reporting describe Blue Nile as part of the connected post-independence conflict between Sudanese forces and SPLM-N-aligned forces.

    Sources: Refworld ICG South Kordofan

  3. Ababil-3 UAV shot down near Jaw

    Small Arms Survey documented an Ababil-3 UAV shot down in Jaw, South Kordofan, with wreckage markings linked to Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company.

    Sources: Small Arms Survey Following the Thread

Weapons

2011 South Kordofan and Blue Nile Conflict Weapon Systems

Category

Aircraft & UAVs

Crewed aircraft, drones, and loitering munitions.

1/1
Ababil-3 UAV, Unmanned aerial vehicle, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsAbabil-3 UAVUnmanned aerial vehicleSide: Sudanese Armed ForcesRole: Government reconnaissance UAVBuilt: Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA) / IranThe Ababil-3 is an Iranian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle in the HESA Ababil family, used primarily for reconnaissance and surveillance. Open-source conflict reporting links the type or local derivatives to Syrian government-aligned operations, Iraq-aligned militia use, and Sudanese Armed Forces drone activity, while separate imagery connects the airframe to Almas missile carriage.

Category

Air Defense

Systems that contest aircraft, missiles, helicopters, and drones.

2/2
ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun, 14.5 mm quadruple towed anti-aircraft gun, Air DefenseAir DefenseZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun14.5 mm quadruple towed anti-aircraft gunSide: SPLM-N and allied rebelsRole: SPLA-N anti-aircraft gun presenceBuilt: V. A. Degtyarev Plant (ZiD) / Various manufacturers / Soviet Union / Russia / China / Romania / North KoreaThe ZPU-4 is a Soviet quadruple 14.5 mm anti-aircraft gun built around four KPV/KPVT heavy machine guns on a four-wheel carriage. Museum, monitoring, and open-source records connect the Cold War gun to Vietnam War helicopter defense, Iraqi air defense, Libyan and Syrian pickup-mounted fire support, SPLA-N-held anti-aircraft positions in Sudan, and anti-Houthi Giants Brigades forces in Yemen.
2A14 23 mm cannon, 23 mm gas-operated autocannon, Air DefenseAir Defense2A14 23 mm cannon23 mm gas-operated autocannonSide: SPLM-N and allied rebelsRole: Rebel-operated ZU-23-2 air-defense fireBuilt: KBP Instrument Design Bureau / Tulamashzavod / Soviet Union / RussiaThe 2A14 is the air-cooled 23 x 152B mm autocannon at the core of ZU-23 and ZU-23-2 short-range air-defense guns, with a quick-change barrel and a belt-feed layout that can be arranged from either side. Public conflict evidence most often documents it through the mounts that carry it: ZU-23-2 guns in Ukrainian service, SPLA-N air-defense fire in South Kordofan, Armenian and Artsakh losses in Nagorno-Karabakh, Houthi firing around Hudaydah, Tigray Defence Forces heavy weapons, and 2A14-pattern or ZU-23-2-pattern weapons with rebel forces in northern Mali.

Category

Infantry Weapons

Portable weapons used by soldiers and small units.

1/1
QLZ-87 automatic grenade launcher, 35 mm automatic grenade launcher, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsQLZ-87 automatic grenade launcher35 mm automatic grenade launcherSide: Sudanese Armed ForcesSPLM-N and allied rebelsRole: Captured heavy-configuration grenade launcherBuilt: Norinco / ChinaThe QLZ-87 is a Chinese 35x32 mm automatic grenade launcher built for portable infantry fire support, with light bipod and heavier tripod configurations fed by drum magazines. Its cataloged conflict record is strongest where photographs or arms-monitoring reports identify specific examples: AMISOM weapons in Somalia, SPLM-N captures in Sudan, opposition and Islamic State appearances in Syria, Séléka stocks in CAR, Kurdish weapons in Iraq, a Boko Haram capture in Niger, and a Taliban capture in Afghanistan.

Category

Munitions

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

1/1
7.62x54mmR cartridge, Rimmed full-power rifle cartridge, MunitionsMunitions7.62x54mmR cartridgeRimmed full-power rifle cartridgeSide: Sudanese Armed ForcesRole: UnknownBuilt: Soviet and Russian ammunition producers / Soviet Union / Russia / Multiple countriesThe 7.62x54mmR cartridge is a rimmed full-power rifle and machine-gun round introduced in the Russian Empire and standardized in modern C.I.P. cartridge tables. Direct ammunition evidence links the round to recovered or documented stocks in Ukraine, Iraq and Syria, Mali, Darfur, and South Kordofan, while the relationship modules connect it to cataloged SVD, PK/PKM, PKP Pecheneg, Type 80, and vehicle-mounted machine-gun systems.

Category

Support Equipment

Transport, logistics, recovery, command, engineering, and other enabling equipment.

1/1
An-24, Twin-engine turboprop regional transport aircraft, Support EquipmentSupport EquipmentAn-24Twin-engine turboprop regional transport aircraftSide: Sudanese Armed ForcesRole: Sudanese Air Force transport aircraft lossBuilt: Antonov Design Bureau / Soviet Union / UkraineThe An-24 is an Antonov-designed twin-turboprop transport built for short- and medium-haul routes from rough or unpaved airfields. Although it began as a regional passenger aircraft, military operators used An-24 variants for staff, cargo, and transport work, with direct conflict evidence in this catalog centered on Sudanese Air Force losses in Darfur and South Kordofan rather than a dedicated strike role.

Conflict Sources

This conflict catalog is intentionally narrow and should not be used for the separate 2023-present 2023 Sudan War unless a source explicitly ties a weapon to both conflict scopes.

  • ICG War in South KordofanPublisher: International Crisis Group | Note: Supports the June 2011 South Kordofan outbreak, major parties, and post-independence conflict context. | Accessed: 2026-06-29
  • Refworld ICG South KordofanPublisher: Refworld | Note: Supports the 2011 South Kordofan and Blue Nile Conflict framing through a hosted Crisis Group country report. | Accessed: 2026-06-29
  • Small Arms Survey Following the ThreadPublisher: Small Arms Survey | Note: Supports the March 2012 Ababil-3 UAV shootdown in Jaw, South Kordofan and the conflict-specific weapon evidence. | Accessed: 2026-06-29