Thousands flee East Darfur after recent clashes with Minnawi rebels

April 11, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – Thousands of civilians fled two areas in East Darfur state following recent attacks by the Sudan Liberation Movement of Minni Minnawi on the positions of the Sudanese army there on 6 April, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Citing reports by Darfur joint peacekeeping force, OCHA further said some displaced people, along with their livestock, have taken refuge close to the UNAMID team sites in Muhajiriya and Labado towns.

The two UN bodies however are not able to provide the number of displaced persons but aid groups in the two areas estimate that their number has reached 15,000 people. The Sudanese health ministry says the two towns are inhabited by 67,000 persons.

This week the Sudanese defence minister Abdel-Rahim Hussein confirmed that Muhajiriya and Labado are seized by the Minnawi group and vowed to retake it very soon.

Muhajeriya and Labado are located in strategic positions along main supply routes used by traders and humanitarian groups to move supplies from Khartoum through to South Darfur.

Ten years after the start of Darfur conflict, the region remains the scene of fighting between three rebel groups and the Sudanese army despite the signing of two peace agreements.

The tribal clashes also appear more and more as another source of violence and trigger the displacement of civilians.

The fact that some government militias use their sophisticated weapons against other tribes amplified the impact of these disputes as it was the case in January when Al-Rezeigat Abballa and Beni Hussein clashed in the Jebel Amer area of North Darfur.

OCHA in its weekly report also mentioned new tribal clashed in Um Dukhun, Central Darfur saying that the fighting between Misseriya and Salamat tribes started on 3 April and displaced civilians surrounding areas.

Local leaders said many were killed but there is no official figures about the causalities.

Some 5,000 people were forced to move to refugees camps in Chad, the Central African Republic or to other locations inside the country.

Um Dukhun town was already hosting about 50,000 IDPs, according to the WFP. The town and surrounding villages are mainly composed of Salamat and Misseriya tribes.

The UN agency mentioned that the two tribes are also fighting since 5 April in Rahad El Birdi locality, South Darfur over land ownership.

(ST)