Three Dead In Sudan Tribal Clashes

At least three people were killed and 11 others wounded in clashes between rival ethnic groups in Sudan’s eastern Kassala state after the nomination of a new governor, officials said Thursday.

The fighting began a day earlier between the Beni Amer tribe and the Beja tribe after the nomination of Salah Ammar of the Beni Amer as governor of Kassala.

One person was killed on Wednesday and 11 others wounded, and the fighting resumed Thursday, claiming two more lives.

“An authorised protest in Kassala turned violent, with shops set on fire, private property destroyed and two people killed” on Thursday, a statement from the prime minister’s office said.

“Seven people who were involved in the violence were arrested,” the statement said, adding that Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was sending security reinforcements.

Thousands of people converged on Kassala, some with sticks and swords, chanting slogans hostile to the new governor, an AFP reporter and witnesses said.

According to the UN, a state of emergency has been imposed in Kassala and security forces have deployed to contain further violence.

In July, Hamdok announced that he would replace all the military governors in the country’s 18 states with civilian ones, but the move has stoked tribal rivalries.

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