Photo: Tim McKulka/UN Photo Khartoum — Tribal clashes over control of lucrative gold mines in North Darfur state have killed more than 500 people and wounded some 865 since January, a Sudanese lawmaker said on Monday, in what is a sharp increase on previous estimates given for the number of casualties from the violence.
Adam Sheikha, a federal parliamentary representative for Al Sireaf district, told reporters 510 people had been killed since the outbreak of violence - the first estimates covering recent fighting to come from a member of Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP). The UN previously put the figure at 100.
Painting a grim picture of the situation on the ground, Sheikha said 15 women were raped, 68 villages were razed and another 120 partially burned down, while around 20,000 displaced families were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, Reuters reported.
North Darfur's El Sereif locality in the Jebel Amer area has been devastated by violence after fighting broke out on 5 January between rival Arab Beni Hussein and Abbala tribes over control of the region's gold mines, resulting in the mass displacement of more than 100,000 people - the worst to take place in recent years.
Despite a peace deal signed last month between the two sides aimed at ending hostilities, fighting resumed last Thursday in the El Sereif area, killing 60 people, including children and women, and wounding more than 83.
Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that fighting began when well-armed Abballa militia and government border guards driving land cruiser vehicles and riding horses and camels attacked El Sereif area.
Sheikha was quoted by Reuters as saying that attackers had used government-issued weapons and vehicles during the attack, while some were on government salaries.
The fighting ceased on Saturday after the Sudanese government ordered an airstrike, killing several Abbala militants.
CIVILIAN SAFETY CONCERNS
The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on Sunday airlifted 37 wounded civilians, including one woman and two children, from El Sereif locality to the capital El Fasher for medical treatment, amid heightened concerns for civilians in the area.
UNAMID has also transported 2,700 kilograms of medical and other supplies to civilians in El Sereif affected by the tribal clashes.
In a press statement issued on Sunday, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Ali Al-Za'tari, expressed his "profound concern" about the safety and well-being of civilians in El Sereif locality, saying the latest violence "highlighted once more the vulnerability of civilians in the area".
Responding to the latest violence, UNAMID said it had deployed peacekeepers to establish a temporary operating base in order to secure the area and facilitate the work of humanitarian organisations.
UNAMID's officer in charge, Mohamed Yonis, called for an immediate end to tribal clashes, which have plagued North Darfur in recent months.
"There is no solution to this conflict other than one that is driven by good-faith efforts toward reconciliation," he said.
"My hope is that, in the upcoming weeks, the tensions in the area will ease and the reconciliation process will resume," he added, reiterating his organisation's support for the local mediation process."
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
The worsening humanitarian crisis in the area has threatened to overwhelm aid agencies, which have been hampered in their response to the conflict due to constraints by the Sudanese government.
While agencies access to affected areas has recently improved, many displaced people remain without food, shelter, medicine and other basic services.
One resident from Al Sereif, quoted by Radio Dabanga, described the situation as "very bad" and "getting catastrophic", with those who fled their homes to Saraf Omra after last month's outbreak of hostilities between the Abbala and Beni Hussein tribes reportedly still living under trees, by creeks or on the outskirts of town.
Some 2,000 people displaced from the Jebel Amir area have settled in Saraf Omra, according to a needs assessment team that visited the area on 14 February. However, community leaders claim that the true numbers of displaced are about 18,500, the majority of which come from the Northern Reizegat tribe.
The United Nations estimates that around 300,000 people have died during the 10-year conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region, while some 2 million people have been displaced after mainly non-Arab rebels took up arms against the Arab-led government in Khartoum in 2003, accusing it of neglecting Darfur and marginalising its people.
North Darfur continues to witness a number of tribal conflicts and remains one of the most volatile states in the region, with different rebel groups regularly clashing with forces from the Sudanese army.
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Again I say with enslavement by Europeans and the Turks our brothers and sisters have lost thier way. When we find that we are in desperate times when we all want to be fed we all want to eat food!!! " we share' one group of people can work one day the other the other day making it sure nd effective for all people to eat"".. This should be standrad and common sense approach. Africans on the whole must return to a higher standard of integrity'. Nobility is standard for muslims and I know that these two communities are muslim".. My brothers and sisters in order for us to grow developo and ease the suffering we must assume that we are not enemies of each othger!".. The way of ALLAH is not the way of SHytan or the devil; that way is not "Peace' we know that our "LORD" DEVISED OUR WELL BEING IT WAS BASED ON INTEGRITY NOBILITY RIGHTEOUSNESS TRUTHFULNESS HONOURDEDICATION TO UPRIGHTNESS WHICH IS PEACE"...This is the way of ISLAM what we have become is fools for the devil, he gives us these tools of death to replace our inherritance our rights to enter pardise. REMEMBER THAT WE ARE PROMISED ETERNITY' THAT MEANS THE SACRED NESS OF LIFE AND NOT DEATH??. THE RIGHT TO LIFE IS BOTH SPIRITUAL AND MENTALWHERE ITS OUR DUTY TO RESPECT THE DECREES THAT HAS BEEN ORDAINED TO US VIA OUR MANY PROPHETS". " ALLMIGHTY GOD THE KNOWER THE SEER THE ENLIGHTENER THE LIGHT" HAS SENT MANY TO GUIDE US ON A TRUE PATH TO RECEIVING HIS MERCY AND THE PROMISE OF LIVING IN THE GLORY OF HIS BEING FOR TIME UNCOUNTABLE"!!!!!!!... THERE IS NO GREATER GIFT TO ANY BEING' SINCE THE EARTHS CREATIONSINCE THE ESTABLISHED ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE.. IT IS NOT FOR US TO QUESTION WHAT IS THE "ALLMIGHTY'S2 DECREES, WHAT WE OD KNOW THAT HE HAS NEVER MISLED LIED PRETENDED OR FORCED US TO DO ANYTHING TO HRAM OR DENY US??? WE SEE WHAT THE INIQUITIES OF MEN HAS CAUSED UPON THIS PLANET WE HAVE DESCENDED INTO A PREVAILING SPIRAL OF DEATH AND IGNORANCE' THIS NOT RIGHT IT IS NOT ISLAMIC IT IS NOT WIZE"???. WIZE MAN'S KNOW THAT THE PERFECT WAY IS THROUGH REASONING REASONING WITH MAN AN MAN WITH BRETHREN ". IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE OD NOT STRAY AS WE ARE PART OF A GREATER WHOLE THAT NEEDS TO COME TOGETHER TO ENSURE WE DO NOT STRAY AND WE ARE NOT COLONISED BY STRANGER WHO COMES WITH SWEET WORDS BUT ARE AGENTS OF SHAYTAN!!!!!!. THE WEALTH OF THESE GOLD MINES ARE WEALTHY ENOUGH TO SUPPORT ALL YOUR PEOPLE, WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS ACCESS MORE SOPHISTICATED MACHINES YOU NEED TO ELECT AMONGST YOU HEADS WIZEWR HEADS THAT CAN TAKE THESE MINES TO A ANOTHERT LEVEL GURANTEEING THAT EVERYONE WITHIN YOUR NATIONS RECEIVES THEIR FAIR SHARE OF THE WEALTH. MUSLIMS ARE HONOURABLE PEOPLE RIGHTEOUSS NOBLE TRUTHFULL ASPIRE TO REMEBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOUR PUPOSE ON THIS PLANET IS???? YOU COME NOT JUST TO EAT SLEPP AND GRIND IN !!!!.. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN HONPOUR WIZENESS AND THE LOVE OF THE ALLMIGHTY GOD" BLNDNESS HAS CAUSED US WITH THE MANY OBSTACLES PLACED UPON US BY THEWEST HAS LEFT US BRAIN DRAINED AND ;LACKING OF FORESIGHT OUR TEACHINGS HAVE BECOME DIVERTED TO MEAN EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE TRUTH. WHEN THE LAST KING REAL KING OF THE EARTHS LAST ANCIENT EMPIRE HAILE SELASSIE 1ST' SPOKE TO THE EARTHS LEDAERS HE MADE IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT ALL MAN WAS BORN EQUAL AND THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO NATION THAT SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO OPPRESS OR OVERWHELM THE PEOPLE OF ANOTHER NATION HENCE TODAY WE HAVE THE UNITED NATIONS!!!!... THEY HAVE LOST THIER WAYS THEY HAVE DECIDED TO USE THIS ORGANIZATION TO THIER BENIFIT USING THIS NOBLE ORGANIZATION TO PLUNDER THROUGH STEALTH MISLEAD WITH RUMOURS LIES AND DIVISIONS; WE MUST OVERCOEM THESE OBSTACLES THAT THEY PUT IN OUR WAY AND STAND UNITED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ERADICATE POVERTY ERADICATE UNDER EDUCATION WE MUST NEVER EVER DO TOUR PEOPLE WHAT WE HAVE WITNESED BY THE IMPERIALIST COLNIALIST ENSLAVERS DID TO US."OUR LORD" HAS MADE US AWARE OF THE EVILS AND PIT FALLS OF THE DEVIL AND HOW DECEITFULL HE TRULY IS; THE DEVIL IS A LIAR VERY RAELY DOES HE TELL THE TRUTH...THESE THINSG WE KNOW SO WE KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT THE WAY FORWARD EVERYTHING THEY DO WE MUST DO THE OPPOSSIT!!! THIS MEANS BUILDING PEACE VERYHJWERE WE GO ESPECIALLY IN THE COMMUNITIES WE LIVE IN".. ITS IS OUR DUTY TO ENSURE THAT ALL OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT ISLAMIC WE KNOW THAT WITH HOPNOUR AN CHARITY SHAREING WHAT WE HAVE THEY WILL LEARN FROMJ US AS IT IS OUR DUTY TO TEAV CH THOSE BY ACTIONS WHAT THE RIGHT WAY TO LIVE IS!!! THE TAKING UP F ARMS IS NOT THE WAY THIS DESTRUCTIVE PATH IS USED BY THE SATANIST TO CONQUOR AND DIVIDE BUT THIS WEAPONS CAN BE NUETRALISED WITH PEACE!!!!NO MATTER HOW MUCH WAR YOU RAISE THE OBJECTIVE IS PEACE IF THERE IS NO PEACE THEN THERE IS COMPLETE DETH.. THOSE THAT PREAPRES THESE TABLES OF DEATH WILL PAY HEAVILY ON THAT DAY ; NO ONE WILL ESCAPE JUDGEMENT 'NO ONE!!!!!!!! WHAT EVER WE THINK WE KNOW WE DO NOT KNOW THE IMPUNITY FO SUPPORTING WARS AGGITATTING WARS MANUFACTURING WARS INSERTNG IN THE ENVIRONMENT THE IDEOLOGY OF MORE WAR MAY SEEM LIKE THE RIGHT THING TODAY BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT YOU HAVE THE POWER TO DO OS BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE SUPREME POWER! "IS HE" WHO IS ULTIMATELY THE OVERSEER AND DECIDER OF LIFE AND DEATH!!! WHAT HE AKSS US TO OD IS VERY SIMPLE LVE LOVING AND SEEK AFTER HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM!!!!