Members of the Hamar community demonstrated Wednesday at a police station in En Nahud Locality in Sudan’s West Kordofan state, calling on the state authorities to bring the bodies of over 30 of their deceased members killed at Um Dar gold mines in North Kordofan state.
Family members of the deceased said at least 36 people from Hamar community were killed and 14 others injured since the beginning of the week in different gold mines. They further said the deceased were burnt to death by members of the Kababish community.
The two communities of Hamar and Kababish have been fighting each other since the beginning of this week over cattle raids which led to the deaths of a dozen of people from both sides.
The family members pointed out that those killed were attacked after they left El Atishan gold mine and headed to En Nahud.
They explained that the bodies of the deceased were taken by state authorities for burial in Soderi town. However, they are calling on the state authorities to bring the deceased to their family members for identification and proper burial.
Dar el Hamar Association in North Kordofan has urged both warring sides the Kababish and Hamar to stop fighting.
Osman Sharif Mahmud, the association’s secretary general said the violence began few days ago after the killing of suspected criminals who allegedly stole camels in the area. The two communities accused each other and led to attacks.
“The two governors are at the scene in addition to the security forces which include army and the police and now the situation is calm,” said Mahmud.
He also appealed on the two neighbouring communities to restore their relationship peacefully.
“These two tribes have been there for many years living together as neighbours. So, I expect that the traditional leaders should play their role to facilitate the issue of reconciliation between Hamar and Kababish,” he said.
Meanwhile, sources within the national parliament in Khartoum said parliamentarians are planning to summon the Sudanese Interior Minister and the Director of Police to shed more light on the inter-communal conflict between the two tribes.