Sudanese soldiers clash with militants in East Darfur

The Sudanese army suffered a number of killed and wounded in East Darfur's Assalaya locality during a clash with a militant group on Monday.

Military staff were chasing outlaws in Abu Saida when the clash took place. Deputy-Governor of East Darfur, Mohamed Hassan Burq said that the army will continue to hunt-down the outlaws and arrest them on Monday.

Burq did not mention the losses in both parties. There are conflicting reports about the casualty number, as the state government confirmed the deaths of four military personnel while witnesses speaking to Radio Dabanga on Monday reported that at least ten were killed or wounded.

“What happened now is an internal matter, concerning the Sudanese army,” Assalaya locality commissioner Mohamed Zein El Sharif said.

Savannah militia

A witness told this station that a group of Rizeigat Savannah militiamen, driving ten vehicles, “ambushed” the military force in Abu Saida. “Two army officers are among the casualties. The Savannah troops did not suffer any casualties.

“The Savannah troops forced the soldiers to withdraw from the area and return to Ed Daein.”

On 9 May, three Sudanese soldiers were injured in a clash with the Rizeigat Savannah militia at Um Gonga in Assalaya, in an attempt to arrest suspects of the tribal violence in Yassin locality in April.

The Governor of East Darfur, Anas Omar, earlier issued a general amnesty for all outlaws and those wanted by the judicial authorities on charges of committing crimes in the state.