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Sudan: Security forces use tear gas on protesters

July 19, 2022

Security forces have fired tear gas on Hausa protesters who marched in several cities after clashes in the southern Blue Nile province. The UN said around 100 people had been killed in the unrest

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Sudan's Hausa people protest in El-Obeid, capital of North Kordofan state
Thousands of Hausa people have protested in various cities in Sudan, demanding justice Image: AFP

Thousands of Hausa protesters took to the streets of a number of cities in Sudan on Tuesday, following a spate of clashes in the country's southern Blue Nile state.

Security forces used tear gas to disperse those who had gathered in the capital, Khartoum.

At least 97 people have been killed and around 200 injured since fighting between the Hausa and Berti people started last week, according to the UN. The instability has also led to the displacement of 17,300. 

Scores of Hausa people gather outside local government offices in Port Sudan, on the Red Sea
Demonstrations took place in multiple cities in protests sparked by anger at the violence in the latest unrest to hit the northeast African nationImage: AFP

Land dispute believed to have triggered violence

The violence came after tensions over a land dispute involving the two groups bubbled over.

Some of those protesting on Tuesday called for an end to what they called the oppression of the Hausa people.

"These aren't just protests, what we want is to get to the presidential palace and ask that the injustice towards the Hausa stops," a young marcher told Reuters news agency.

Tensions have spread to other cities in the country due to people moving from Blue Nile into Sennar state in a bid to escape the violence.

Some have blamed the unrest on the killing of a farmer last week. A prominent Hausa member told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity that the Berti tribe had rejected a Hausa request to create a "civil authority to supervise access to land." But a senior Berti member said the tribe was responding to a "violation" of its lands by the Hausa.

Sudan's tenuous security situation

Some analysts believe a coup in October, which was led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, stoked a resurgence in ethnic violence over land, livestock, and access to water and grazing areas.

Sudan is in the grip of an economic crisis that has worsened since Burhan seized power last year and a transitional government was removed.

Since then, there have been ongoing mass protests and a violent clampdown by authorities

In April, more than 200 people were killed in clashes in war-ravaged region of Darfur.

kb/nm (AFP, Reuters)