14 Dead In 3 Days Of Tribal Violence In Sudan’s West Darfur

CAIRO, Egypt  – At least 14 people have been killed in Sudan’s long-troubled Darfur area in the previous three days, according to two activists.

Local activist Adam Haroun claimed Sunday that confrontations erupted in West Darfur province after Arab motorbiked gunmen shot and killed a businessman in the remote hamlet of Fur Baranga.

According to Adam Regal, spokesman for a local organization that helps operate refugee camps in Darfur, the death precipitated a series of retaliatory attacks and theft between Arabic and African tribal groups.

Haroun predicted the death toll would grow as the violence continued on Tuesday.

West Sudan Darfur’s governor issued a two-week state of emergency on Monday and imposed a nighttime curfew nationwide.

Analysts attribute increased violence in recent months Sudan between various ethnic groups in Sudan’s far-flung areas to a leadership vacuum and tensions exacerbated by political Sudan turmoil.

At least 14 people have been killed in Sudan’s long-troubled Darfur area in the previous three days, according to two activists.

At least five people were murdered in fighting in West Darfur in late March. Over 170 people were killed in confrontations in the Blue Nile province in the extreme southeast corner of the African country last October.

Since Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, Sudan’s top general, led a military coup to overthrow a Western-backed government in October 2021, upending the nation’s brief transition to democracy, there has been unrest in the country.

The country’s ruling military and several pro-democracy forces struck a tentative deal in December promising to restart the transition. Despite months of squabbling and many deadlines, Sudan’s diverse political factions have yet to agree.

Darfur’s crisis began in 2003, when rebels, largely from the region’s ethnic Central and Sub-Saharan African communities, launched an insurrection, accusing the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum of persecution.

The then-government, led by Omar al-Bashir, Sudan responded with aerial bombs and janjaweed militia scorched earth attacks. Over the years, up to 300,000 people have been slaughtered, and 2.7 million have been driven from their homes in Darfur.

SOURCE – (AP)