At least 18 people have been killed in a tribal clash that has killed nearly 830 people this year in the central state of Darfur, Sudan, according to the United Nations (UN).
Darfur’s central governor, Saad Adam, said in a statement that the new outbreak of violence erupted on Thursday, when a group of “armed robbers” killed a person to steal his motorbike and the victim’s family attacked a meeting of the rival tribe in retaliation. .
The clashes have so far left a total of 18 dead and 15 injured, the governor said.
A security source in the state capital Zalingei told EFE, on condition of anonymity, that the warring tribes were both of Arab descent: the awlad rashed and miseriya.
Security forces were dispatched to the area to put an end to the clashes and authorities banned tribal gatherings. However, army officers have already been appointed to mediate between the two clans.
Since the beginning of the year, tribal violence has claimed the lives of 829 people and injured 973 others, according to the United Nations.
Tribal and internal conflicts in the country have also displaced at least 265,273 people.
Violence between Sudan’s numerous tribes is common, although incidents have increased over the past year, amid a severe economic and political crisis triggered by a military coup on October 25, 2021 that interrupted a process of democratic transition that has lasted two years had started earlier.
Source: DN
