Tribal clashes in Central Darfur leave dozens dead

Clashes between the Misseriya and Mahariya tribes in the area of Naga Douli, north of Zalingei in Central Darfur, leave dozens dead and injured. The clashes started on Friday September 21 and continued until Sunday evening. The reports about the number of victims are conflicting; a witness from the area told Radio Dabanga that there were more than 60 victims, among them 12 fatal. Onlookers said the clashes broke out between the two tribes on Saturday morning and continued until Sunday evening. They added that the clashes left more than 50 fatal victims and that the injured victims were taken to Zalingei hospital in Central Darfur and Saraf Omra hospital in North Darfur. Another witness from Zalingei told Radio Dabanga on Saturday that heavy fighting was still continuing and the sound of gunshots could be heard in Zalingei. He pointed out that the fighting between the two tribes was initially caused by a member of the Mahariya tribe. The Mahariya tribe member, allegedly, stole cows from the Misseriya tribe. The local authorities tried to reconcile the situation, but during the reconciliation attempts a Mahariya tribe member deliberately killed an Omda from the Misseriyah tribe. The Omda’s guard responded to this attack by killing five Mahariya tribe members, after which the clashes broke out, the witness added to Radio Dabanga from Zalingei. On his part, the governor of Central Darfur, Dr. Yousef Tibin, announced in a press statement that the clashes left 12 fatal victims on Friday. At the same time, Mohamed Mousa Ahmed, the governor’s deptuty, confirmed a number of seven fatal victims.The governor described the events as ‘regretful’ and explained that troops of the Sudanese Central Reserve Forces (CRF) will be sent to the region to prevent escalation of the tribal tension.