150 killed in Sudan in renewed ethnic clashes

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Oct 2022 19:56
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From late July up until early October, the death toll was recorded at 149 and the number of wounded at 124.

At least 150 killed in two days of fighting in Sudan's south: Medics

Sudanese medical authorities reported on Thursday that at least 150 people died in the span of two days due to land disputes which triggered ethnic clashes in Sudan's southern Blue Nile state.

The clashes involved members of the Hausa people with other groups and took place around the Wad Al-Mahi area near Roseires, some 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the capital Khartoum.

"A total of 150 people including women, children, and elderly were killed between Wednesday and Thursday," said Abbas Moussa, head of Wad Al-Mahi hospital.

He said, "Around 86 people were also wounded in the violence," adding that "weapons have been used and houses burned."

He further added that most of the victims suffered burns.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the week prior, altercations in the same location bordering Ethiopia triggered by "a dispute over land issues" caused 13 people to die and another 24 to be severely injured.

Since then, a curfew has been set imposed by authorities in an attempt to contain the violence.

Ethnic clashes between the Hausa people and other groups go back to July since the Hausa community had filed a request for the establishment of a "civil authority", which worried rival groups over the Hausa group gaining access to land.

Up until early October, the death toll was recorded at 149 and the number of wounded at 124, and an estimated 65,000 have been displaced, according to the UN.

Another major factor in the clashes were the protests carried out by the Hausa people who demanded justice for those who were killed.

In late July, the leaders of rival ethnic groups had agreed to cease fighting, but the clashes resumed again in September.

Sudan's military seized power in an October coup, breaking a power-sharing agreement with civilian pro-democracy parties and plunging the country into political and economic chaos.

As mediation efforts failed, civilian groups have called for the military to completely exit politics.

Hundreds of demonstrators continue their protests against the military leadership, against the backdrop of measures taken by Al-Burhan on October 25 last year.

These measures led to the dissolution of the civilian government headed by Abdullah Hamdok and the suspension of some provisions of the constitutional document signed between the military component and civilians, in September 2019, which was considered by civilians as a “coup against the legitimate authority and a disruption of the constitutional document.”