48 killed in Sudan tribal clash

At least 48 people were killed and 97 more wounded in a bloody tribal clash in Sudan’s Darfur region.

State media the SUNA news agency reported this on Sunday (January 17).

The SUNA news agency said, “The death toll from militia attacks in al-Geneina yesterday (Saturday) reached 48, referring to the capital of West Darfur state and quoting the local branch of the country’s doctors’ union. The bloody events which are still ongoing since Saturday morning.”

Saturday’s clashes initially pitted the Massalit tribe against Arab nomads in al-Geneina, about two weeks after the United Nations and African Union ended a 13-year peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

The violence morphed into broader fighting involving armed militias in the area, which left several buildings, including houses, scorched.

The vast Darfur region was the scene of a bitter conflict that erupted in 2003, leaving about 300,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced, according to the UN.