Two months of tribal skirmishes in North Darfur State have also displaced 20,000 families.

The armed conflict between the Arab tribes of Abbala and Beni Hussein over control of a gold mine and other resources in Al Sireaf District of Sudan’s North Darfur State, has left 510 people dead since it broke out on January 5, 2013. Darfur-based Radio Dabanga quoted a Sudanese lawmaker as making the revelation earlier this week.

The tribal clashes have also left some 865 people wounded and about 20,000 families displaced since January 2013, Sudan Tribune newspaper reported. Adam Sheikha, a Federal Parliamentary Representative for Al Sireaf District, said in spite of a peace deal signed last month between the two sides, fighting resumed on Thursday, February 21, 2013. Witnesses said fighting began when well-armed Abbala militia and government Border Guards driving Land Cruiser vehicles and riding horses and camels attacked Al Sireaf.

The UN Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Ali Al-Za'tari, expressed profound concern about the safety and well-being of civilians in Al Sireaf, saying the latest violence highlighted once more the vulnerability of civilians in the area. The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur, UNAMID, said it had deployed peacekeepers to secure the area and facilitate the work of humanitarian organisations.

About 100,000 people have been displaced since the first wave of hostilities on January 5, 2013, the UN said, claiming this was the largest forced displacement in Darfur in years. Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has urged all sides to show restraint and refrain from taking any action that could jeopardize the agreement on cessation of hostilities. This is to prepare for a reconciliation conference to be convened by the Governor of North Darfur State in April.