A provincial governor in Sudan’s restive Darfur region was attacked last night. Armed men opened fire overnight, trying to storm his residence but were repelled by guards, officials said.
The attempted attack on West Darfur Gov. Mohammed Abdalla al-Douma’s residence in the provincial capital of El Geneina, heightened tensions in the restive region where tribal violence has led to the death of about 230 people since last week. No injuries or damage were however reported in last night’s attempted attack.
The governor said in a statement that the attempted attack sought to create “instability and chaos” in the province. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, and the governor’s report did not say who the attackers were.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters, a military official said that the attackers opened fire on the heavily fortified residence, prompting the guards to return fire. The exchange lasted for over an hour.
Earlier in the week, officials from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum visited to the governor in Genena to discuss the tribal clashes.
The fighting between members of the Arab Rizeigat tribe and the non-Arab Massalit tribe resulted from a fistfight on Friday in a Genena camp for displaced people. Some 160 people on both sides, including women and children have died as a result of the clash.
At least 90,000 people have also been displaced as a result of the fighting. The displaced persons have now taken shelter in schools and government buildings and nearby villages, according to the United Nations.
A 24-hour curfew in all of the provinces in the Western Darfur region has been imposed by authorities, and the military and police have been authorized to use “all necessary force” to regain order.
Security reinforcements have also been deployed by the central government in Khartoum.
On Monday, clashes between the Rizeigat and non-Arab Falata tribe in South Darfur province, killed around 70 people, according to Gov. Mousa Mahdi. The clashes were sparked by the killing of a shepherd in al-Twaiyel village, 85 kilometers south of Nyala, the provincial capital.
While visiting the village on Tuesday, Mahdi vowed to bring to justice those who instigated the violence.
The latest violent clashes in Darfur region poses a challenge to Sudan’s transitional government which has been struggling to end civil war in the country’s far-flung areas.
It also is a major test to the government’s ability to protect civilians following the end of the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force’s mandate in Darfur this month.