Sudan tribal clashes leaves 6 people dead in Suakin city

Oct 15, 2020(Nyamilepedia) —  At least six people have been killed and 20 injured in the city of Suakin, Sudan following tribal clashes that broke out over the removal of the neighbouring state’s governor, Salih Amar.

“The city of Suakin witnessed bloody tribal clashes on Wednesday morning over the decision to dismiss the governor of Kassala state [Saleh Ammar],” the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said in a statement on Wednesday.

All fatalities were caused by cold weapons, the NGO stressed.

The tribal conflict came as a result of the Hadandawa tribe in Kassala  rejecting the appointment of a governor from the rival Bani Amer tribe.

Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok had on Tuesday exempted Salih Amar, the governor of Kassala State, of his duties following strong opposition to his appointment and protests by the powerful Hadandawa tribe.

However, the move was rejected by Amar’s Beni Amer tribe in the Red Sea State, which includes the cities of Port Sudan and Suakin.

To contain the situation, authorities imposed a curfew in Port Sudan and Suakin, some 60 kilometres away, from 12pm until 4am starting Wednesday and shut the roads leading to the two cities, state news agency SUNA reported.

Ammar, who is from the Beni Amer tribe, was named governor of Kassala in July, when Hamdok appointed civilian governors for the country’s 18 provinces. He was nominated by the pro-democracy movement that was behind the uprising against al-Bashir.

But protests, mainly by a rival tribe that opposed his appointment, barred Ammar from entering Kassala, so he remained in the capital, Khartoum. The demonstrations escalated in August, when at least five people were killed and over three dozen were wounded.

Fighting between the Beni Amer and Hadandawa had previously broken out in 2019 and leaders from the two tribes signed a peace agreement to stem the violence.