Third day of clashes in Mellit, North Darfur

Witnesses informed Radio Dabanga that renewed clashes took place today in Mellit, North Darfur. Mellit locality’s commissioner said six people died since the beginning of the clashes three days ago. According to witnesses, Abdel Rahman and Hassan Abdullah got severely wounded during today’s clashes in Mellit and were brought to the local hospital for treatment. They added that schools, government offices and the market are closed for three days now. The situation is described by them as tense and residents claim to be living in panic. The commissioner of Mellit locality, Mohamed Osman Ibrahim, announced today that six people died and 15 got injured since the beginning of the clashes three days ago. He explained the fighting is the result of the killings of two people, one from the Berti tribe and the other from the Ziyadi tribe, and both tribes blame each other for the killings. Berti and Ziyadi are the largest tribes that live in Mellit locality. Ibrahim predicts that clashes will become a tribal dispute before the Sudanese armed forces can take control of the situation. Mohamed Osman Ibrahim also denied the occurrence of any considerable material damage at Mellit’s market and of other properties. He said that one fuel shop was burned and one shop was looted.