Nearly 60 killed in Darfur tribal fighting: state media

KHARTOUM (AFP) - Nearly 60 people have been killed this week in fighting between Arab tribes in Sudan's conflict-plagued Darfur region, the official SUNA news agency said on Thursday.

Fierce clashes along the border between East Darfur state and South Kordofan killed 35 Misseriya tribesmen and 23 from the rival Rezeigat tribe, South Kordofan governor Ahmed Haroun was quoted as saying by SUNA, citing a preliminary assessment.

Another 24 tribesmen from both sides were injured, he said, after officials from the two states met in the East Darfur town of Ed Daein.

"We agreed to take some measures to control the situation in the area, and the local leaders are discussing procedures" to prevent a recurrence, Haroun said.

In June 2010 more than 100 people were killed in two weeks of clashes between the groups.

Non-Arabs in Darfur rebelled in 2003 against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government to secure a greater share of resources and power.

In response, the government unleashed state-backed Janjaweed Arab militia in a conflict that shocked the world and led to allegations of genocide.

After a 2006 peace agreement, which later collapsed, inter-Arab fighting became the single largest cause of violent death in the vast western region of Sudan, the Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based independent research project, said in a 2010 report.

The United Nations says more than 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur, while the Khartoum government put the death toll at 10,000.

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