At Least Five Killed in Tribal Violence in Sudan’s West Kordofan

Internally displaced Sudanese women. Reuter file photo
Internally displaced Sudanese women. Reuter file photo
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At Least Five Killed in Tribal Violence in Sudan’s West Kordofan

Internally displaced Sudanese women. Reuter file photo
Internally displaced Sudanese women. Reuter file photo

At least five people were killed and nine injured in tribal clashes between members of the Miseriya and Nuba tribes in Sudan's West Kordofan state, the country's military said on Saturday.

The incident is the latest in a wave of tribal violence that has swept across the country, despite the signing of a nationwide peace deal two years ago.

The fighting, which occurred on Friday and Saturday in the town of Lagawa, was brought under control after intervention by the army and Rapid Support Forces, as well as police, a military statement said.

Lagawa lies outside a part of the state controlled by rebel leader Abdelaziz al-Hilu's faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), which has not signed up to the peace deal.

The group, whose army includes members of the Nuba tribe, has long been at odds with the Sudanese government, and members of the Arab Miseriya tribe have participated in the conflict, Reuters reported.

In a statement on Friday, however, SPLM-N denied any involvement in the violence in Lagawa or any enmity towards the Miseriya, describing the events as the result of a dispute over land in the town.

Separately on Friday, nine Arab tribesmen arrived in Khartoum after being held captive by the SPLM-N.

Their release followed talks between the group's leadership, Sudan's sovereign council head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and South Sudanese brokers, a separate military statement said, describing the release as a "goodwill gesture".



World Food Program Condemns Israeli Attack on Its Gaza Convoy

People and first responders inspect the rubble of a collapsed residential building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in the Saraya area in al-Rimal in central Gaza City on January 4, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
People and first responders inspect the rubble of a collapsed residential building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in the Saraya area in al-Rimal in central Gaza City on January 4, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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World Food Program Condemns Israeli Attack on Its Gaza Convoy

People and first responders inspect the rubble of a collapsed residential building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in the Saraya area in al-Rimal in central Gaza City on January 4, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
People and first responders inspect the rubble of a collapsed residential building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in the Saraya area in al-Rimal in central Gaza City on January 4, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

The UN World Food Program said on Monday that Israeli forces had opened fire on one of its convoys in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza in what it called a "horrifying incident".

The agency said the convoy of three vehicles carrying eight staff members from central Gaza to Gaza City in the north was struck by 16 bullets near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint on Sunday, causing no injuries but immobilizing the convoy.

The vehicles were clearly marked and had received prior security clearances from Israeli authorities, a WFP statement said.

"The World Food Program (WFP) strongly condemns the horrifying incident on January 5," it said.

"This unacceptable event is just the latest example of the complex and dangerous working environment that WFP and other agencies are operating in today," WFP said, calling for improvements in security conditions to allow aid to continue.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident.

International aid agencies working to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza have frequently accused Israeli forces of hampering or threatening their operations amid Israel's campaign to wipe out Hamas fighters.