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Ethnic clashes in Sudan, 200 killed

AAP
The withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces has been followed by ethnic clashes in the Darfur region.
Camera IconThe withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces has been followed by ethnic clashes in the Darfur region.

More than 200 people have been killed during ethnic clashes in Sudan, including 55 deaths following violence between farmers and livestock herders in Sudan's South Darfur region.

Fighting between farmers of the Fallata ethnic group and pastoralists of the Rizeigat ethnic group broke out on Sunday after a shepherd was killed in the town of Gereida, South Darfur governor Musa Mahdi Ishak said.

Numerous people were wounded during the clashes, Ishak said.

At least another 159 people were killed in separate clashes over the weekend between various ethnic groups in the city of El Geneina in neighbouring West Darfur State, according to a medical group.

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The violence was triggered when a person from an Arab ethnic group was stabbed by a member of a Masalit ethnic group, according to the Darfur Lawyers' Association.

The clashes occurred about two weeks after United Nations peacekeepers discontinued their patrols in the Darfur region, preparing for a full withdrawal.

The region has been volatile since a conflict broke out in 2003 in western Darfur between the government of former autocrat Omar al-Bashir and sections of the population demanding greater political participation.

Government forces and the allied Arab Janjaweed militia acted brutally against the local population and an estimated 300,000 people were killed in the crackdown.

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