At least 141 die in tribal clashes in Sudan;s south

USPA News - At least 141 people have been killed and more than 100 others have been wounded after days of clashes over land in Sudan`s oil-rich southern region, tribal leaders said on Thursday, less than five months after 150 people died in a similar dispute. The battles in al-Quwik, located in the southern state of West Kordofan near the border with South Sudan, began earlier this week when two-sub groups of the powerful Messiria tribe clashed over a land dispute.

Details about the specific nature of the dispute between the Awlad Omran and Al-Ziyoud sub-groups were not immediately known. A tribal leader said by telephone that at least 141 people had been killed since the fighting began, which involves guns, heavy machine guns and other heavy weapons. More than 100 others have been injured, some of them seriously, and the death toll is expected to rise as the fighting continues. Government officials were not immediately available for comment, but the violence comes just months after similar clashes in the same region. At least 150 people were killed and more than 100 others were injured in early July when two sub-groups of the Messiria tribe clashed over a land dispute near oil fields in West Kordofan.