Kassala — At least five people were shot dead and several were injured during the escalating inter-communal clashes that began on Tuesday, in the Makram and Kadugli neighbourhoods in Kassala yesterday.

Local witnesses told Radio Dabanga, "the sound of gunfire continued throughout Wednesday", causing families to be evacuated from their homes to the nearby army garrison. Now in its third day of conflict, witnesses added the violence has impacted dozens of people's livelihoods, causing shops in the area's market to close down.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga's Sudan Today programme, political activist Hamarour Hussein, stated that individual conflicts have become heightened by "hate speech and the lack of security in the area". Hussein added that the internal and external influences have exacerbated the conflict. He called for the state to intervene and "secure the weapons scattered throughout the region".