Violence in Sudan's volatile Darfur leaves over a dozen dead

Bloodshed in Sudan's long-troubled Darfur region has left at least 14 people dead over the last three days, two activists said.

Adam Haroun, a local activist, said on Tuesday that clashes erupted on Sunday in West Darfur province after gunmen on motorcycles shot and killed a trader in the remote town of Fur Baranga.

The killing sparked a series of reprisal attacks between Arab and African tribal groups and looting, said Adam Regal, spokesperson for a local organisation that helps run refugee camps in Darfur.

The violence continued on Tuesday and the death toll was likely to rise, Haroun said.

On Monday, the governor of West Darfur declared a two-week state of emergency and introduced a night-time curfew across the state.

Analysts see an uptick in violence in recent months between different tribal groups across Sudan's far-flung regions as a product of a power vacuum and tensions caused by political turmoil.

READ MORE: Tribal clashes kill at least 12 people in Sudan's Darfur

Steep unrest

In late March, at least five people were killed in clashes in West Darfur. Last October, over 170 people were killed in clashes in Blue Nile province, situated in the remote southeast corner of the African country.

Sudan has been steeped in chaos since a military coup, led by the country's leading General Abdel Fattah Burhan, removed a Western-backed government in October 2021, upending its short-lived transition to democracy.

Under intense international pressure, Sudan's ruling military and various pro-democracy forces signed a preliminary agreement in December pledging to reinstate the transition to democracy, but after months of wrangling, cross-party talks brokered by the UN and other international actors, Sudan's political factions have yet to agree to a final deal.

Sudan's militants have remained staunchly opposed to the deal.

The conflict in Darfur first broke out in 2003 when rebels — mostly from the region's ethnic central and sub-Saharan African community — launched an insurgency, complaining of oppression by the government in Khartoum.

The then-government, headed by Bashir, responded with a campaign of aerial bombings and scorched earth raids by Janjaweed militias.

Up to 300,000 people were killed, and 2.7 million were driven from their homes in Darfur over the years.

READ MORE: Thousands flee as tribal clashes in Sudan's Darfur leave dozens dead