Sudan Declares State Of Emergency Over Tribal Conflict

Sudan's Central Darfur state has declared a state of emergency for one month after more than 24 people were killed in a tribal conflict, tribal leaders and the official Suna agency reported on Monday.

Governor Saad Adam Babiker declared the state of emergency late on Sunday night because both sides of the conflict fired live ammunition at the reconciliation commission that was trying to resolve the conflict.

Last week, fighting broke out between the Misseriya and Aulad Rached Arab tribes in areas close to Zalingei, the seat of Central Darfur in western Sudan.

It all began, according to a Misseriya tribe elder, with a stolen moped.

Despite the emergency declaration, violence has claimed at least 24 lives, according to the Suna news agency.

"Houses have been burned and the situation is still out of control despite the dispatch of government troops," added an Aoulad Rached dignitary.

Experts claim that the security vacuum caused by the October 2021 coup led by army head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane has caused tribal hostilities to flare.

According to the UN, they have displaced more than 265,000 people and murdered over 800 individuals this year.

Also, according to the UN, at least 300,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced during the war in Darfur that broke out in 2003 between the Arab-majority dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir and rebels from ethnic minorities who claimed they had been subjected to discrimination.

Bashir was overthrown in 2019 as a result of pressure from the army and the public. He is currently incarcerated.

Darfur is still frequently rattled by conflict, especially between opposing tribes. Conflicts over territory and issues in the region contribute to the bloodshed.

Darfur remains regularly shaken by violence, particularly between rival tribes.

The violence is caused by territorial disputes and difficulties in accessing water, among other things.