No fewer than 36 people were killed in tribal clashes which erupted over the weekend between Arabs and non-Arabs in Sudan’s western Darfur region
The state-run news agency disclosed that the clashes broke out in South Darfur province between the Arab Taaisha and the non-Arab Falata tribes wounding at least 32.
More troops have been deployed to contain the clashes in the area of Um Dafuk, west of the South Darfur’s provincial capital of Nyala. The area is on the border with the Central African Republic. A statement later in the day disclosed the clashes have subsided.
Eyewitnesses say the violence grew out of a land dispute between the two tribes.
Clashes such as this one pose a significant challenge to efforts by Sudan’s transitional government to end decades-long rebellions in some areas like war-wrecked Darfur.
The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic Africans rebelled, accusing the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum of discrimination. The government has been accused of retaliating by arming local nomadic Arab tribes and unleashing the militias known as janjaweed on civilians.
The government denies these charges.
Sudan is on a fragile path to democracy after a popular uprising led the military to overthrow autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, after nearly three decades of rule.
Since then, the country has been led by a joint military-civilian government, which has been struggling to overcome the country’s dire economic conditions.