Several weeks after significant skirmishes in the region, state officials report that at least seven individuals have died in intercommunal violence in Sudan's southern Blue Nile state.
The most recent escalation of violence, which happened in two locations throughout the state, resulted in at least 23 other injuries. The cause was still being looked into on Friday, according to the security committee of the Blue Nile state.
According to the French-based Sudan Tribune news outlet, the committee also declared a curfew in the two sizable cities of al-Damazin and al-Roseires.
According to activist Bashir Hassan Bashir, who spoke to the news outlet, there appeared to be a disagreement when Hausa people sought shelter in either public structures or homes they had abandoned during the fighting in July.
During that month, fighting between the Hausa and Birta tribes left 105 people dead.
The fighting forced thousands of people from their homes, with many telling Al Jazeera that ongoing fighting had complicated aid access to those internally displaced within the state.
The violence followed accusations from the Birta, who have long inhabited Blue Nile state, that the Hausa, who inhabit farming areas across the country, were trying to lay claim to parts of their land.
The Hausa have said the violence began after the Birta rejected their request to create a “civil authority to supervise access to land”.
Sudan’s military leaders, who seized power in October 2021, have said they want to preserve the country’s stability and are working to beef up security.
However, observers say the military takeover has created a security vacuum that has led to a resurgence in tribal violence in several areas that have long seen unrest.
Recent violence has also broken out in the country’s eastern coastal regions and in Darfur, despite the government reaching a peace deal with rebel groups in the western region in 2020.
Protesters have accused the military rulers of failing to protect civilians and further stoking tribal conflict.