Abu Dhabi: Authorities in Sudan say at least 36 people were killed and 32 injured after new clashes erupted between ethnic groups in South Darfur. Sudan’s military has vowed to restore peace to the region, according to the Sudanese news agency.
“The tribal conflict between the Falata (African) and Ta’isha (Arab) tribes in South Darfur has killed about 36 people and wounded 32 others on both sides,” the official news agency said, without mentioning the cause or timing of the fighting.
The news agency added that “the South Darfur State Security Committee, in its meeting Sunday, decided to push for additional military reinforcements to the area to prosecute the perpetrators, prevent a recurrence of the incident, and form legal investigation committees.”
The Wali of South Darfur, Musa Mahdi, said that “the joint forces that were sent into the conflict areas in Am Dafouk (southwest of the state) were able to separate the warring tribes, in the areas of Mandouh, Mirmasa, and Mjangari,” according to the official agency.
Many areas in Darfur are witnessing tribal fighting as part of conflicts over land, resources and grazing areas.
On January 22, the United Nations said that at least 200 people were killed and 240 wounded, and about 116,000 were displaced as a result of tribal clashes that took place during the same month in El Geneina, West Darfur, and Gereida, South Darfur.
The conflict in Darfur broke out in 2003 when the government of then-President Omar Al Bashir empowered Arab militias to fight rebel groups.
The conflict resulted in the killing of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the displacement of more than two million people.
The transitional government that followed Bashir’s ouster in April 2019 signed peace agreements with rebel groups.
Earlier this year, the conflict between Arab and non-Arab tribes in El Geneina flared up again, resulting in the death of 129 people and the displacement of 108,000.
Political analysts say renewed violence in Darfur could undermine the peace process in Sudan and prevent the UN peacekeeping mission from protecting civilians.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague has charged Bashir with war crimes and crimes against humanity for his treatment of civilians in Darfur. Bashir is in a Khartoum prison after a Sudanese court convicted him of corruption in late 2019.
