Clashes in West Darfur’s Jebel Moon – ‘situation still dangerous’

The death toll as continual ‘tribal clashes’ in Kulbus locality, north of Jebel Moon in West Darfur, enter their fourth day, has risen to at least 20, with many wounded and many more displaced after fleeing the fighting. Police reinforcements have been moved to the area, but only arrived yesterday afternoon.

The Deputy Executive Director of Kulbus locality, Abbas Mustafa, said in an interview with the Sudan Today programme on Radio Dabanga that during a third day of violence, gunmen attacked the villages of Um Rukeina, Wari, Ray, and Beit Arbaa, on Wednesday morning. He described the situation in the locality as “still bad and dangerous”.

He pointed out that the death toll among the police has risen to three, including the head of the police station. The violence caused the displacement of a large number of people to the area of Adawi in the locality.

Mustafa told Radio Dabanga earlier this week that a joint force of army soldiers, policemen, paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Central Reserve Police (Abu Teira) was ambushed by herdsmen while they were moving to the site of the clashes. He said additional reinforcements were deployed to the conflict areas on Tuesday evening but did not arrive until Wednesday afternoon.

Eight villages burned to the ground in the first two days of the clashes, Abakar El Tom, head of the Gimir tribe, told Radio Dabanga that the clashes erupted after a dispute over agricultural lands between Gimir and Rizeigat tribesmen, Arab nomadic herders. The clashes then expanded and escalated to include a number of villages and the occupation of a water well. The fighting continued until late on Tuesday.

El Tom called on the parties to resort to the voice of reason and restraint.