Unconfirmed number of casualties as East Darfur clashes progress

After hours of relative calm, clashes between the Rizeigat and Ma’alia tribes in East Darfur resumed on Monday afternoon, leaving an unconfirmed amount of dead and injured from both sides.Sources say the latest confrontation occurred in the administrative unit of Keleikel Abu Salama and that “many were killed and wounded. On Tuesday we saw large crowds from the Rizeigat and Ma’alia, on vehicles, horses, and camels, heading to the battlefield.”The Omda of Keleikel Abu Salama, Mohamed Ahmed Ali Ajalballah, said fighting began on Monday afternoon in the Migellit area, north of the administrative unit. He claimed that the Ma’alia counted eight dead and 17 wounded, “although inventory is still in progress.”Omda Ajalballah said that on Tuesday crowds of fighters gathered again in Migellit but also in Abu Jaar. He believes that clashes “may resume at any time.”Ahmed Mohamed Adud, the East Darfur secretary-general, told Radio Dabanga that fighting in Migellit led to the death and injury of many people from both sides on Monday, echoing the omda’s statement that “some victims have not yet been accounted for.” Adud noted the Ed Daein market has been partially reopened on Tuesday.GovernorDuring his visit to Adila locality on Monday, East Darfur Governor Abdul Hamid Musa Kasha and his delegation were surrounded by a hostile group armed with sticks, stones, and batons who also fired gunshots in the air.Sources say the incident was a reaction to Kasha’s remarks that the on-going tribal clashes in the state are not between the Rizeigat and the Ma’alia, but between the Rizeigat and “armed movements from Darfur.” The Ma’alia, they explained, consider this means the governor is accusing them of belonging to rebel groups themselves.Kasha was accompanied by the Sudanese army chief-of-staff, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Ali, and the commander of East Darfur’s army division, Maj. Gen. Isam Sheriff. The unrest caused them to be stranded at the locality’s headquarters for three hours, witnesses claimed.Nevertheless, East Darfur Secretary-General Adud, affirmed the governor and his entourage were at the building waiting for an airplane that was coming from Belila in West Kordofan to transfer 12 wounded members of the Ma’alia tribe to Khartoum.The commissioner of the Adila locality, Brigadier General Ahmed Ali Rizk, confirmed the Governor and his delegation were “surrounded by a crowd of local angry people” as they were going to meet with the local security committee.”Bullets were fired on the premises of locality and people threw stones and sticks putting them in an uncomfortable situation,” said the commissioner to Radio Dabanga. Ed Daein is generally accepted as the stronghold of the Rizeigat tribe, and Adila and Abu Karinka are known to be the stronghold of the Ma’alia.Clashes between the Rizeigat and Ma’alia tribes in East Darfur have left hundreds dead and injured since tensions began to rise about one week ago. While the Ma’alia accuse border guards affiliated to the Rizegat of joining the fighting, the governor of East Darfur claims that “rebels have assisted the … Ma’alia tribe against Riezegat.”On Monday afternoon, a Unamid peacekeeper convoy was attacked by “a mob” in Ed Daein. Unamid claims none of their peacekeepers were injured. However, witnesses affirmed to Radio Dabanga that one peacekeeper was critically wounded and is currently being treated in a hospital. File photoRelated: Unamid convoy attacked in Ed Daein, East Darfur – vehicles ‘seized’ (13 August 2013)