4 dead, 8 injured in clashes in W. Darfur
December 4, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Four people were killed and eight others injured on Wednesday in clashes between farmers and herders in the village of E’esirni in Kereinek locality in West Darfur after herders deliberately made their cattle pass through residents’ farms at gunpoint.
The fighting prompted the government to send military reinforcements to prevent the expansion of violence between the two sides.
The mayor of Kereinek Younis al-Haj told Sudan Tribune that a group of pastors admitted their camels into the farms under the force of arms.
He pointed to the occurrence of an altercation in the beginning that has evolved into a bloody dispute killing one pastor on Tuesday which angered a group of shepherds who gathered the next day and attacked residents and caused the high death toll in addition to burning more than two dozen houses in E’esirni village.
He further said that the herders carried out widespread looting in more than four neighboring villages in the region, adding that the wounded were moved to the Ardumty military hospital and Geneina educational hospital.
Al-Haj said that crowds of shepherds gathered to launch further attacks against the residents in a “dangerous development”, which indicates a worsening security situation which would further complicate the situation in the region.
He appealed to all parties to listen to the voice of reason and resolve all disputes in a civilized manner and through honest brokers in accordance with the inherited customs and habits to prevent drifting into bloody events between pastoralists and farmers in the region.
Most of the five Darfur states are witnessing disputes between farmers and herders.
In mid-November clashes broke out between the two sides in Labado area in East Darfur state, which claimed the lives of four farmers and herders in addition to burning the village of Sha’awa which led to the displacement of the people in the region to the UNAMID headquarters.
Other clashes took place last month between camel herders and farmers in Tawila locality in North Darfur state, killing three of the farmers and wounding others.
(ST)