Tribal fighting displaces thousands in south Darfur

Tribal fighting killed more than 40 people and displaced thousands of civilians, mostly women and children, in the state of South Darfur in Sudan this month, aid workers and a human rights group said.

In North Darfur, rebels said yesterday that government forces clashed with a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) a day earlier. The Sudanese military could not confirm the incident but said it has forces operating in the area.

The fighting in South Darfur broke out early in October between the Arab Maaliya tribe and the African Zaghawa over cattle and other livestock around the town of Muhajiriya, an international aid source said yesterday.

Analysts who follow Darfur say the Zaghawa tribe has settled in areas including Muhajiriya and demanded ownership of land, ignoring the rights of historical owners who include Maaliya.

"Fifty-one men from both sides were killed," the source told Reuters yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The US-based Human Rights Watch said on Friday night more than 40 "civilians" were killed in the fighting.

The violence in Darfur threatens efforts to end the conflict which international experts estimate has claimed the lives of 200,000 people and forced 2.5 million to flee their homes since 2003. Khartoum estimates the death toll at 10,000.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it provided sleeping mats, clothes and tarpaulins last week to more than 4,000 people "displaced by communal clashes" around Muhajiriya.

"People were left without the bare necessities," said Juan Carlos Carrera, the head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Nyala, the capital of the South Darfur state.

The majority of the displaced sought shelter under trees and on a nearby seasonal river where water was readily available but their living conditions could "quickly deteriorate" with winter approaching, the ICRC statement added.

The conflict in Darfur that started in 2003 by mainly non-Arab rebels against the government has turned into a free-for-all crisis, with insurgents, bandits, government forces and tribes vying for everything from power to cattle and land.

Human Rights Watch said Khartoum-backed Arab militia attacked more than 13 villages between October 5 and 17, burning homes and stealing livestock.

"Once again, civilians are bearing the brunt of fighting in Darfur," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. Officials from South Darfur Governor Ali Mahmoud's office were not immediately available to comment.