Sudan’s military sacks commander after tribal clashes

Land dispute reignited fighting in the Blue Nile, pitting the Hausa tribe, with origins across West Africa, against the Berta people. (File/AFP)

• Fighting in Blue Nile reignited earlier this month over a land dispute
• The violence comes ahead of the first anniversary of Sudan’s military coup

CAIRO: Sudan’s ruling military sacked a commander in the southern Blue Nile province after two days of fierce tribal clashes there last week killed at least 220 people, the army announced Monday. The unrest added to the woes of a country mired in civil conflict and political chaos.
Fighting in Blue Nile, which borders Ethiopia and South Sudan, reignited earlier this month over a land dispute, pitting the Hausa tribe, with origins across West Africa, against the Berta people. The tensions escalated Wednesday and Thursday in the town of Wad el-Mahi on the border with Ethiopia.
The violence comes ahead of the first anniversary of Sudan’s military coup that upended the nation’s short-lived transition to democracy. It has also drawn criticism of the powerful-military, with a Sudanese pro-democracy group accusing the ruling generals of not protecting ethnic groups in the province.
Sudan’s military spokesman, Col. Nabil Abdalla, said that Maj. Gen. Rabei Abdalla Adam was named as the commander for the Blue Nile, replacing Maj. Gen. Ramzi Babaker who was removed from his post over the weekend.
The appointment was a part of the military’s efforts to “address the regrettable security events,” the spokesman said. The military also established a fact-finding mission to investigate the clashes, Abdalla said.
Fath Arrahman Bakheit, the head of the Health Ministry in Blue Nile, said Sunday that the death toll, including scores of women and children, became clearer late Saturday, after the first humanitarian and medical convoy managed to reach Wad el-Mahi. Local authorities announced a nighttime curfew in the town, and deployed enforcements to the area to prevent further unrest.
In Damazin, the provincial capital of Blue Nile, protesters angered over the clashes on Sunday stormed the headquarters of the local government and a military facility, local media reported.