CAIRO — Seven people have been killed in tribal clashes that erupted in a restive province of Sudan, state-run media reported Friday, the latest episode of violence in a country plagued with political turmoil since a military coup last year.
The fighting, in which another 23 people were wounded, began Thursday in the town of Roseires in the Blue Nile Province, according to a local government statement cited by the SUNA news agency.
A nightly curfew was imposed and gatherings were banned in the areas where clashes erupted. A joint military-police commission was appointed to investigate the incident, authorities said.
Authorities did not mention what sparked the fighting or which tribes were involved. In July, the province saw heavy fighting between the Hausa and Birta ethnic groups that left 105 people dead and hundreds wounded.
Sudan, home to several long-running ethnic conflicts, was plunged into further chaos last October when the military seized power from a transitional government that had been set up after the overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.
The coup upended the country’s transition to democracy and raised questions about military leaders’ ability to bring security to Sudan’s far-flung provinces. In April, tribal clashes killed over 200 people in war-wrecked Darfur.
Thousands have been taking to the streets in near-daily protests demanding an end to military rule. A fierce crackdown by authorities has killed 117 people since the coup, according to a medical group that tracks protest casualties.
