Five killed in renewed intercommuanl clashes in West Kordofan

September 12, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Five people were killed on Monday in the latest tribal violence between Misseriya and al-Hamar in the Abu Zabad city of West Kordofan state.

The deadly conflict over land ownership resumed when a group of Hamar removed a boundary marker placed by the Misseriya indicating that Abu Zabad is part of their tribal land.

“The clashes between the two parties killed five people and injured 13 others,” Saleh Juma, a member of the Misseriya Supreme Coordination, told Sudan Tribune.

Juma further said that the violence erupted because of a decision by the military-led Sovereign Council to freeze the demarcation of the border, followed by the removal of the marker by the Hamar tribe.

In 2021, West Darfur state experienced intercommunal clashes in and around Nuhud and Sunut localities at the boundaries between Missariya and Hamar tribal lands.

Earlier this month, the Sovereign Council, Sovereignty Council decided to suspend the border demarcation between the localities of Nuhud and Sunut, until a border conference to reach an agreement between the two tribal groups.

The suspension intervened after massive protests the Hamar organized in six localities in West Kordofan.

The state authorities dispatched security forces to the area to control the situation and restore security.

Over 85% of the state population are from the Misseriya who were well armed by the former regime during the war against the SPLM before the South Sudan session.

Even years after the independence of South Sudan, the proliferation of small arms in the state remains a key challenge for the Sudanese authorities.