Clashes renew between Sudanese army, paramilitary forces in western state

KHARTOUM, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — Clashes have renewed between the Sudanese Army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in western Sudan’s South Darfur State amid continued tribal violence in the state, according to eyewitnesses and local media.

There were conflicting reports about the deaths and injuries resulting from the military clashes and tribal violence in the state.

The RSF said in a statement on Sunday that over 43 civilians, including eight children and women, were killed in the Sudanese army’s “indiscriminate” shelling on a number of neighborhoods in Nyala, the capital city of South Darfur state.

The Sudanese army has not yet commented on the accusation. But according to local media and eyewitnesses, many people had lost their lives in the escalated tribal fighting in the South Darfur state.

“Since Friday, tribal fighting has been taking place between the Salamat and Bani Halba tribes,” an eyewitness from Nyala told Xinhua on Sunday.

“This morning, the conflict escalated between the two tribes, resulting in large numbers of deaths and injuries, ” said the eyewitness who required anonymity, adding the exact number of the victims could not be counted due to the security situation.

Meanwhile, the independent Sudan Tribune news portal reported on its website that the tribal fighting, which has been going on for three days, has led to the killing and injuring of no less than 47 people.

The website quoted military sources as saying that the reason behind the conflict between the two tribes was that they accused each other of stealing livestock, besides the Salamat tribe’s refusal to bow to RSF pressure to push the tribes to declare their absolute support for paramilitary forces in the war.

In June, the Bani Halba, one of the main Arab tribes in South Darfur state, declared its support for the RSF in its war against the Sudanese army.

Adam Abbakar Ishaq, a leading figure in Nyala’s local resistance committees, said that the mobilization by the two tribes threatens a humanitarian catastrophe.

“Both tribes are mobilizing more fighters amid unprecedented security chaos and complete absence of official authorities,” he told Xinhua by phone.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF in Khartoum and other areas since April 15, resulting in at least 3,000 deaths and more than 6,000 injuries, according to figures released by the Sudanese Health Ministry.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)