Fighting between a Darfur rebel group and South Sudanese police broke out in the north of Yida Camp, near the entrance to the camp leading from South Kordofan, beginning at 6:00 p.m. and continuing for about half an hour.
Kalishnokovs, G3 and machine guns were used until a lull of fighting, which lasted about 20 minutes, after which the fighting resumed and larger weapons such as the Dushka cannon were also heard.
The fighting followed the outbreak of an altercation at the gateway between elements of the Justice and Equality Movement and South Sudanese police.
Camp dwellers fled toward the west side of the camp away from the fighting. There were civilian casualties during the engagement but the number has not yet been confirmed. The number of combatants killed is not known. Looting is also reported to have occurred within the market.
It is feared that JEM troops will make a major attack against the police headquarters in the camp by night.
Update, 17 March 2013: It is confirmed that there were 11 civilians wounded in the crossfire and one policeman, most of whom suffered only light wounds. One policeman identified as ‘Korak’ was killed and also one two year old child named Jaafer Daoud. The combatants on the JEM side reportedly were only a small group, led by a soldier named Nimeiri and not by one of the lead commanders. The JEM group arrived in only one vehicle. Nimeiri, an Angolo by tribe from the Nuba Mountains, led the group of JEM fighters to the camp after an earlier argument between an Angolo trader and police.
Photo: A Mongolian UN soldier stands guard at the UNHCR compound in Yida where refugees sought shelter during clashes on 16 March 2013 (Radio Tamazuj).