Tribal clashes in Sudan killed more than 170, including women and children

Africa, News October 22, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

At least 170 people, including women and children, lost their lives in Sudan’s southern Blue Nile state during the latest ethnic clashes related to land disputes.

The violent clashes that started on October 19 lasted overnight until the next day on October 20, 2022. Dozens of people were severely injured while several lost their lives as the clashes between the Hausa people and its rival ethnic tribes intensified for two days.

The clashes included the profound use of handheld weaponry while many houses were set on fire, resulting in the death of several women and children.

The bloodshed is the worst in Sudan in recent times. As the news of clashes surfaced in local media, a crowd of hundreds of people came out to the state capital Damazin, to protest against the violent clashes. Protesters demanded that government should immediately intervene in order to restore peace and stability in the region. Earlier, it was in July this year that a similar wave of violent tribal clashes resulted in the death of many locals.

The fighting took place around Sudan’s Wad al-Mahi region, an area near the town of Roseires, about 500 kilometers away from the country’s capital Khartoum. Sources from the local hospitals confirmed that at least 150 people including women and children have died while more than 80 people are severely injured due to the violent clashes.

United Nations aid chief for Sudan Eddie Rowe expressed his deep concerns about the violent situation in Sudan. He said that at least 170 people had been killed due to violent clashes since October 13 while more than 350 people have been reported injured.

This is not the first time that Sudan’s Blue Nile state has been shaken by incidents of ethnic violence. The Blue Nile is home to dozens of different ethnic groups and tribes with decade-long tribal tensions, however, the Hausa tribe, which find its origins across West Africa, and the Berta tribe are at war with each other for a long time following land disputes.

A group representing the Hausa said they have been under attack by individuals armed with heavy weapons over the past two days. The statement did not name any specific tribe or group for the attack. The statement also called for de-escalation and for a stop to ”the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Hausa people”. The tribe has long been subjected to ethnic marginalization within Sudanese society.

^{A group of protestors, holding banners and flags, gather at the call of the “Forces of Freedom and Change” groups to protest against the tribal clashes in the Blue Nile region in the southeast of the country in Khartoum, Sudan. (Image Credit: Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency)}

Governor of the Blue Nile’s neighboring state West Kordofan, Khaled Jili visited the town where the clashes had taken place. Khaled Jili assured the locals that “there is also a risk of an escalation and spread of the fighting with additional humanitarian consequences.”

Many analysts consider that the rising violence is a product of the power vacuum in the region which is caused by the military coup that took place last year. The violence and political instability are threatening Sudan’s already struggling economy to the brink of collapse.