17 killed in fresh tribal clashes in South Darfur
December 13, 2015 (NYALA) – Seventeen people were killed and twenty nine others injured Saturday in violent clashes between Rizeigat and Misseriya tribes in Al-Ziaifa area in the locality of Baleel, South Darfur state.
Clashes have renewed between the two tribes after Rizeigat herders encroached into farms of the Misseriya killing 17 people and injuring 29 from both sides.
Sudan Tribune correspondent in South Darfur said the major hospital in the state’s capital, Nyala has received more than 20 wounded tribesmen.
An official source told Sudan Tribune that security organs have sent military reinforcement to the headquarters of the locality in Baleela in prelude to deploy it in the area to prevent further clashes particularly as tribesmen from both sides have been mobilized in preparation for a potential battle.
The head of the Dago tribe Shura (consultative) Council, Osman Mohamed Ali, pointed that the clashes between the two tribes were caused by the repeated encroachment of herders into the farms of the local people, saying they deliberately destroyed crops of the farmers and inflicted heavy losses on them.
He called for ending the continued attacks against the farms of the local residents in order to allow them to harvest their crops.
Ali also demanded the state government to deploy military forces swiftly to contain the security crisis and prevent further clashes between the two sides.
Hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between Rizeigat and Misseriya in East and South Darfur states during the past three years as the two sides failed to reach an agreement to end the clashes.
Sudanese officials say concerned by the increase of tribal conflicts which become the main source of violence in Darfur region.
They admitted the failure of traditional mediation and reconciliation processes and vowed to use the force to impose the state authority and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Last October, a report issued by the National Council for Strategic Planning (NCSP) pointed that 1621 people were killed in tribal clashes in Darfur in 2013 and 2014 compared to 59 people in 2012.
(ST)