Sudan: Emergency and curfew in South Darfur after deadly tribal clashes
A widening cycle of inter-communal violence in Belila locality that has left seven people dead and five injured appears to have prompted Sudanese authorities in South Darfur State, western Sudan, to declare a state of emergency and a curfew in Belila locality, amid calls for an urgent investigation and the disclosure of military personnel from the Rapid Support Forces who were involved in the violence.
Security tensions have been high in areas east of Nyala, the capital of the province, since the middle of last week, when a group of citizens were ambushed by gunmen in the town of Umm Adal, which is close to Balila. Friday’s incidents were the result of armed attacks that targeted a number of villages.
“Governor of South Darfur State Hamid al-Tajani Hanoun has issued an order declaring a state of emergency in South Darfur State,” the Sudanese News Agency (SUNA) reported.
Hanoun also announced “a curfew inside a locality on a night from Saturday until further notice, from 16:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. GMT the following morning.”
“The emergency order came in the wake of an outbreak of tribal violence between the Daju and Rizeigat tribes in eastern Belila localities, which led to the killing of a number of citizens (whom it did not specify) and the burning of villages and property,” the news agency said.
The decision also exempted health workers and workers, water and electricity services, bakeries and wells, drinking water tankers, ambulances and emergency health services, the news agency said.
The decision came after seven people were killed and five others were wounded in attacks by gunmen on villages in western Iraq over the past three days in the wake of tribal conflict.
A large number of residents gathered in front of South Darfur state government headquarters on Saturday to protest attacks by armed groups that targeted villages on Friday.
The protesters, most of them members of the “Daju” tribe, carried the bodies of four people who were shot dead by armed militia on the village of Amuri, a local village 17 kilometers east of Nyala. They chanted slogans against the State Security Committee, blaming it for the deteriorating security situation despite being informed before the attacks on civilians began.
The Sudan Tribune website quoted Daju tribal leader Adam as saying that the gunmen who attacked the villages of Amuri and Ashma, some of whom were wearing rapid support forces uniforms and using four-wheel drive vehicles that are only available to the government agencies, revealed the bodies of about three people who were missing since Friday.
He said the armed group forced the joint army-reserve force, a police force, to withdraw because it possesses more weapons and military equipment than the joint force.
He called for an immediate investigation and the disclosure of the Rapid Support Forces who took part in the attacks.
Residents fleeing the town of Fasha were assaulted and looted by armed groups while on their way to Nyala to escape the armed attacks, witnesses said.
They confirmed that large numbers of citizens from the villages of Taqla, Humaydah, Gemmayzeh Arbaa, Fez Kadhab and Kisigo, which burned down large areas, arrived for a local presidency overnight in a highly complex humanitarian situation.
Large swathes of Darfur over the past three years have seen bloody tribal conflicts, mostly over land and power, claim hundreds of lives and cause thousands to flee.
The SLM condemned the violence, saying it was contrary to all moral standards, international norms and human rights conventions.
It called for an immediate investigation to uncover the truth, arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice. It blamed the security services for not protecting citizens and enforcing the rule of law.
Sudan has been plagued for decades by tribal conflicts and wars, estimated to have reached 250,000 people, and led to political, social and security tensions.
Over the past months, the central government has sought to impose heavy measures during the months-long stay in Darfur of the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Sovereignty and Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
