Hausa communities that immigrated to what is now southern Sudan several centuries ago have been the target of community conflicts between indigenous Sudanese groups like Nuba peoples and Funj people for several decades. Disputes over local power and land rights, combined with government instability, sparked several waves of clashes in Blue Nile state between July 2022 and January 2023 that killed over 600 people.[1] While these clashes didn't take place in White Nile, the ethnic rivalries were still present.
On April 15, 2023, after months of arming themselves and failed negotiations for a civilian government, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Hemedti attempted to overthrew Sudanese junta leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, sparking clashes in every city in Sudan. Much of eastern and southern Sudan, including White Nile, had their RSF rebellions suppressed by the Sudanese army, and fighting was instead concentrated in Khartoum State and Darfur.[2] However, 70% of internally displaced refugees from Khartoum State resided in White Nile following the clashes, many of whom were South Sudanese refugees.[3] Combined with 17,000 Blue Nile refugees, in February 2023 the state's refugee population was 287,000, although the amount of refugees in Kosti in particular is unknown.[3] The civil war's eruption inflamed pre-existing tribal conflicts across the nation.[2]