Tribal Clashes Kill 12 in Sudan's Darfur

Tribal violence in Sudan’s long-restive region of Darfur killed at least 12 people over the past few days, an aid group said Sunday.

An aid group said on Sunday that tribal violence in Sudan's long-troubled Darfur region had killed at least 12 people over the past few days.

Adam Regal, the spokesman for the General Coordination of Refugees and Displaced in Darfur, mentioned that the clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the Beleil area of South Darfur also resulted in the injury of at least 42 people.

According to local authorities, the clashes stemmed from an attempt by shepherds to rob a motorized tuk-tuk in the village of Amouri, killing one person. 

The fighting escalated on Thursday and Friday when shepherds and local residents exchanged attacks.

On Saturday, the authorities declared a state of emergency and imposed a night-time curfew in Beleil to help stop the clashes.

Regal stated the aid group counted 12 dead in the fighting, and the tally could be higher. He said many villages in the area were either burned down or looted.

He pointed out hundreds of families have been displaced and taken refuge in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state.

The violence was the latest to rock Darfur in recent months. In November, at least 48 people were killed in tribal clashes in the Central Darfur region.

The sprawling region saw bloodshed in 2003 when rebels from the region's ethnic center and sub-Saharan Africa staged a revolt, accusing the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum of discrimination and neglect.