Sudan: At Least 220 Killed in Tribal Fighting

Two days of tribal fighting in Sudan's south killed at least 220 people, according to a senior health official said on Sunday.

Fighting renewed in Blue Nile state, which borders Ethiopia and South Sudan, earlier this month due to a land dispute. It pits the Hausa tribe, with origins across West Africa, against the Berta people.

The tensions escalated on Wednesday and Thursday in the town of Wad al-Mahi on the border with Ethiopia.

According to Fateh Arrahman Bakheit, director general of the Ministry of Health in the Blue Nile, officials had counted at least 220 dead as of Saturday evening. He added that the death toll was likely higher.

The first humanitarian and medical convoy managed to reach Was el-Mahi late Saturday to try to assess the situation, including counting "this huge number of bodies," and the dozens of injured, Bakheit said.

Al-Bakhit mentioned that the first humanitarian and medical convoy managed to reach Al-Mahi area on Saturday evening in an attempt to assess the situation, including counting "this huge number of bodies" and dozens of wounded.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports on social media circulated the form of the ongoing unrest in Blue Nile province.

The fighting between the two groups first erupted in mid-July, leaving at least 149 people dead as of early October. It sparked violent protests and fueled tensions between the Blue Nile tribes and other provinces.

The latest fighting comes at a critical time for Sudan, just days before the first anniversary of the military coup that plunged the country into further turmoil. 

The coup wrecked the country's short-lived transition to democracy after nearly three decades of the repressive rule of Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown by a popular uprising in April 2019.