36 killed in tribal clashes in North Kordofan

April 4, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – Gunmen from the Kababish tribe Monday have killed 36 miners from Hamar tribe and injured 13 others near Umm Badr area in North Kordofan state, some 600 kilometres from the capital, Khartoum.

The armed clashes between the two tribes, which erupted on Sunday and claimed more than 50 lives from both sides, appeared to have been sparked by a theft of camels.

One of the survivors by the name of Abdel-Samad Mohamed Ahmed told Sudan Tribune that a group of Hamar miners at Al-Itishan goldmine near Umm Badr were on their way to Al-Nuhud town in West Kordofan state when they were intercepted by gunmen from Kababish tribe on two four-wheel-drive vehicles.

He pointed the gunmen took the miners at gunpoint to a nearby forest and forced them to lie on their backs and set them on fire, saying they also shot them from six meters away.

“After ten minutes they seized our vehicles and left the scene and we managed to arrive at Umm Gasa area where we have been evacuated to Fuaja and then to Al-Nuhud,” he said.

Al-Nuhud police director Ahmed al-Mardi said his office received information on Monday evening that the dead bodies would be brought to Fuja area, pointing he sent a police force and a physician to perform the autopsy and issue a medical report.

He pointed the police force was told that the dead bodies have been transferred by the security committee to Sodari town, saying he contacted the police office in Sodari and was informed that the corpses decomposed and have been buried.

For his part, Al-Nuhud prosecutor Sulieman Um Badda told Sudan Tribune they received requests to exhume the dead bodies in order to identify the victims, saying the request were tentatively approved.

Meanwhile, the governors of North Kordofan state Ahmed Haroun and West Kordofan state Abu al-Gasim al-Amin Baraka Tuesday have arrived at Umm Rahik and Al-Hower areas to prevent armed standoff between Kababish and Hamar tribes.

Also, a delegation from Khartoum headed by the minister of decentralised governance Faisal Hassan Ibrahim and including the tribal chiefs of Hamar and Kababish was dispatched to the area.

Tribal fighting occurs frequently in several regions of Sudan, including Kordofan and Darfur where over 300,000 people were forced to flee their homes.

Last year, Sudan’s president, Omer Al-Bashir, warned against tribal strife in some areas of the country, noting the country is facing challenges that need the cooperation from all people.

(ST)