Several people were killed and others wounded, including women, in armed clashes between two tribal groups in Nyala, the capital of Sudan’s South Darfur state, local Sudanese media reported on Thursday.
The fighting erupted on Wednesday morning between members of the Salamat and Sharafa communities in the Al-Sareif neighbourhood in southern Nyala, according to residents and local sources cited by Darfur24.
Witnesses said both light and heavy weapons were used during the clashes, leaving an unspecified number of people dead and injured.
A force affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces arrived at the scene around midday and managed to halt the fighting between the two sides, witnesses said.
Residents in southern parts of Nyala also reported hearing intense exchanges of gunfire west of Wadi Barli, near Al-Sareif. The violence was accompanied by looting and the burning of residential homes, according to local accounts.
The tensions reportedly began on Monday following a dispute on social media over the tribal affiliation of a sub-clan, locally known as a “khashm al-bayt,” and whether it belonged to one of the two rival groups.
Authorities initially intervened and contained the dispute, but fighting resumed on Wednesday after armed men on motorcycles arrived from outside Nyala and attacked members of the opposing group, local sources said.
The two groups are said to share common ancestral roots, but one later split away and became affiliated with the Sharafa tribe. The latest dispute centred on its claim to use the name of a particular tribal branch, a move rejected by the other side.
Wednesday’s violence was described as a relatively rare case of tribal fighting inside Nyala itself in recent months, although South Darfur continues to experience periodic armed disputes between tribal communities.
Such conflicts in the state have often ended through locally brokered reconciliation conferences and agreements.
