230 killed or injured in Darfur tribal clashes over grazing land

July 16, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — At least 230 people were killed or injured in clashes in Darfur between two tribes fighting for control over grazing land in the area, a Sudanese official was quoted as saying Sunday.

The Sudan Media Center, a pro-government news agency, reported the first official comment on the clashes that lasted three days last week between the Rizzaigat and Habania Arab tribes in south Darfur.

The head of the attorney general’s office in south Darfur, Ahmed Ali al-Muktasi, was quoted as saying that the Habania tribe suffered some 200 casualties, and that 30 members of the Rizzaigat were killed or injured.

Police and army reinforcements have blockaded the area in a bid to restore calm, the agency said.

Fighting between nomadic tribes over water and pastureland in drought-stricken areas is common in Sudan.

(ST/AP)