Over 1000 people flee tribal clashes in East Jebel Marra, Darfur
October 10, 2016 (EL-FASHER). The United Nations on Monday said that 1600 people were displaced in east Jebel Marra in Darfur due to tribal clashes between farmers and pastoralists.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported in its weekly bulletin that 230 families( around 1600 people) have been displaced from 13 villages and farms near Kosa to Katur village in Tawilla locality, North Darfur State.
In statement to Sudan Tribune on Monday, the tribal leader in east Jebel Marra , Tawilla locality, North Darfur State ,Abu Baker Ali, said that around 2000 people have fled their villages and sought protection from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
“The newly displaced persons arrived from villages in Kosa area south of Finga and north of Kotor and sought the protection of the SAF near the eastern entrance of Jebel Marra on the border with South Darfur State,” said Ali.
A government official who requested anonymity told Sudan Tribune that a group has stolen cattle from one of the Arab tribes and took it to highlands in Jebel Marra.
He pointed that the Arab tribe mobilized supporters from South and North Darfur and attacked many villages on their way to Jebel Marra highlands as these areas claimed to belong to rebel groups.
“The newly IDPS are currently protected by SAF,” said the official, adding that the government Humanitarian Aid Commission in North Darfur has called on the aid groups that visited the area to assess the needs to provide assistance to the newly displaced people.
Community leaders say the displaced are taking shelter in the surrounding hills due to a fear of further attacks, UNOCHA reported in its weekly bulletin.
OCHA went to say that an inter-agency team consisting of a number of UN agencies, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) was unable to access the IDPs taking shelter in the hills due to inaccessibility, as the terrain is rocky and there are no roads.
The recent conflict between government forces and SLA- Abdel Wahid al-Nur in Jebel Marra, which erupted in January, has forced thousands of people to flee the mountainous area that extends in three states in Darfur.
(ST)