At least 133 killed in tribal clashes in Sudan

KHARTOUM-

At least 133 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in clashes between two groups belonging to an Arab tribe in Sudan’s West Kordofan state, a tribal leader said.

The clashes between Awlad Omran and Al-Ziyoud groups of the Arab Mesiria tribe began with a dispute over land, Mukhtar Babo Nimr, the leader of the tribe, told Reuters by phone.

“They used guns and heavy weapons in the fighting in the Kwak area of the state of West Kordofan,” he added.

Government officials were not immediately available for comment.

West Kordofan is the main oil-producing state in Sudan, and borders the turbulent Darfur region and the new state of South Sudan.

Arab tribes, many of which were armed by the government in Khartoum to help end an insurgency by mainly non-Arab rebels in Darfur, have turned their guns against each other in a surge of conflict over resources.