Spokesman: At least 55 dead after violence in Darfur, Sudan

April 26, 2010

According to Mohammed Issa Aliou, a spokesman for the Rezeigat tribe in Darfur, Sudan, at least 55 people have been killed in the city after clashes with the Southern Sudanese army.

Issa Aliou said yesterday that Rezeigat tribal members were attacked by armed forces near the border with the partially autonomous South Sudan on Friday, as they were looking for water and new pastures.

The South Sudanese army, however, responded by saying that the tribal members were the ones who had started the attacks.

"A company of 120 SPLA [Sudan People's Liberation Army] soldiers was attacked on Friday night by armed men wearing uniforms of the northern army that were heavily equipped," said Major General Kuol Deim Kuol, with the southern former rebel SPLA.