Clashes in Sudan’s Blue Nile State displaces 14,000 people
July 19, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – About 14,000 people have been displaced due to tribal clashes in Sudan’s southeastern Blue Nile State, a state body said.
The displaced from Ar Rusayris locality are sheltering in three schools in Ed Damazine town, according to the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC).
HAC is the state-owned body that manages and organizes all humanitarian work carried on in Sudan along with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
On July 14, inter-communal violence erupted in Ganis town and other parts of Ar Rusayris between Berta or Funj, the original inhabitants of southeastern Sudan, and Hausa people whose ethnic roots are in Nigeria. The latter seek to establish a chiefdom and claim territory in the war-ravaged area.
The violence broke out after the killing of a Hausa over land ownership in Roseiris and spread to Ed Damazin town and other areas on July 15 and 16.
The quick spread of violence across the region forced the SPLM-N governor of the region, Ahmed El-Oman Badi to impose a curfew in a bid to reduce the bloody violence after horrible scenes of lynching and indiscriminate attacks on Hausa who are also seen as supporters of the former regime.
There are reports, HAC sad, of an additional 1,000 people displaced in Ar Rusayris, and 500 people in Geisan localities outside Ed Damazine town, pending verification the total number of displaced is likely to increase.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Omer Adam Omer, head of the health emergency and epidemic control directorate at the Blue Nile state’s health ministry disclosed that 105 people have been killed and 225 others injured.
He said 20 of the critically injured were moved to Khartoum for treatment.
An estimated 1,800 people are reportedly displaced to Sennar State.
“In Kassala, an unverified number of people were reportedly killed on 18 July and a few injured during a protest in solidarity with people affected by the violence in Blue Nile. Urgent support is needed to de-escalate the situation and ensure protection of civilians from further attacks,” said HAC.
The security situation in Blue Nile is reportedly “calm”, but “unpredictable”.
On July 18, according to the HAC, the Area Security Management Team convened and agreed on road travel from Khartoum to Ed Damazine with caution and recommended the resumption of the United Nations Humanitarian Air Services (UNHAS) flights to Ed Damazine on 19 July.
Meanwhile, movements to Ganis, Ar Rusayris, Geisan, and Wadi al Hadi (including camp 6) are still restricted until the security situation improves.
On 18 July, the state governor had a meeting with humanitarian partners and requested them to provide assistance to the newly displaced people
After calls from local authorities, the Health ministry reportedly dispatched using a military plane a team of doctors, medical equipment as well as medicines.
(ST)