♦ This week’s news in brief ♦

A compact weekly digest of Dabanga Sudan's highlights of the news from Darfur and Sudan

♦ 15 killed as Sennar clashes continue

October 25 – 2016 SINJA In renewed fighting between armed herdsmen and members of a paramilitary force in Abu Houjar locality in eastern Sudan on Sunday evening, fifteen people were killed and dozens were wounded.

After the first report that one person was shot dead when herdsmen and members of the Central Reserve Forces (popularly known as Abu Tira) clashed in Kokary on Sunday, sources told Radio Dabanga that clashes resumed the following evening, also in Kokary.

Herders attacked the camp of the Abu Tira at 5pm, in retaliation to the death of the herder earlier that day. 13 paramilitaries and two herdsmen were killed, the source reported, while dozens from both parties sustained varying injuries. The attackers seized weapons of the Abu Tira and torched their camp. Authorities have sent a military convoy to the scene, where the situation is very tense.

The chief administrator of the Rufaa tribe, Yousif Ahmed Younis, attributed the cause of the tension to the delayed implementation of a presidential decree that stipulates the resettlement of Sudanese nomads and their cattle from South Sudan. Either the local governments or the Abu Tira force have so far not allowed the herders passage and let the cattle graze in these areas, despite calls to the governments by the nomadic herders.

♦ South Sudanese refugees punished after Darfur camp raid

October 21 – 2016 ED DAEIN The Public Order Court in Darfur has fined six South Sudanese from Kario camp on the charges of obstructing an officer on duty and terrorism against the state during a raid on Monday. A pregnant woman who was injured during the raid awaits her trial in the hospital.

The court in Ed Daein, the capital of East Darfur, sentenced a South Sudanese camp leader and five refugees to three months in prison and to paying a fine of SDG5,000 ($812.70) each on Thursday. The six had been arrested by a paramilitary force in Kario, a new camp for South Sudanese refugees, on Monday.

Alok Dud Abuk, a pregnant woman activist, remains in the hospital awaiting her trial. Abuk was beaten by members of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police. The court acquitted the trials of camp leader Ibrahim Awil and Rebecca Garang.

The Central Reserve Police raided the camp on Monday, wounding a number of refugees and leaders in the process. A witness claimed that the paramilitaries apparently sought illegal liquor-makers among the refugees from South Sudan in Kario.

Kario camp was opened in July and thousands of South Sudanese refugees voluntarily relocated to the new site from Khor Omer camp, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported in September. In 2016, over 90,000 South Sudanese arrived in Sudan, of whom about 60 per cent are in East Darfur.

More highlights from Radio Dabanga:

Sudan sues, threatens Amnesty International

October 25 – 2016 KHARTOUM Khartoum is attempting to counter the international uproar following allegations of the Sudanese government's use of chemical weapons against citizens of Darfur, by filing a lawsuit against Amnesty…

Five Sese camp leaders detained by West Darfur Military Intelligence

October 24 – 2016 SESE Military Intelligence operatives detained five leaders of the Sese camp for the displaced in West Darfur on Friday. A relative of one of the detainees told Radio Dabanga that Military Intelligence…

US Envoy visits Kalma camp, South Darfur governor

October 24 – 2016 KALMA CAMP / NYALA On Saturday, Donald Booth, the US Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, met with displaced leaders in Kalma camp in South Darfur. The US Envoy visited the camp near Nyala, capital of South Darfur…

North Darfur militiamen halt water for Sortony

October 24 – 2016 SORTONY On Sunday, militiamen imposed passage fees on tankers bringing water to thousands of displaced in the Sortony camp in Kabkabiya locality in North Darfur. The coordinator of the Kabkabiya camps…

Umma party leader to return to Sudan

October 24 – 2016 CAIRO After an exile of more than two years, the president of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) has decided to leave his residence in Egypt and return to Sudan. In an interview with the Egyptian Almasry Alyoum…

18 drown as boat sinks in Sudan’s White Nile state

October 23 – 2016 TENDELTI The sinking of a boat in Tendelti in White Nile state on Friday has left 18 farmers dead. The boat was crossing the Abu Habil creek in Tendelti with 20 passengers, an eyewitness reported to Radio Dabanga….

Sudan doctors extend strike suspension for a week

October 23 – 2016 KHARTOUM The Sudanese Central Committee of Doctors has announced that the suspension of the medical strike will be extended by a week. Dr Hossam El Ameen El Badawi, the spokesman for the Doctors’ Committee, told…

This digest is an excerpt from the weekly Darfur & Sudan News Update. Subscribe to the newsletter here