150 die in clan battle near Sudanese oil fields

USPA News - At least 150 people have been killed and dozens more have been wounded in a battle over territory near oil fields in Sudan`s southern region, local media reported on early Friday, but few other details were available from the remote region. It took place near oil fields in the southern state of West Kurdufan when two sub-groups of the Messiria tribe clashed over a land dispute, a tribal leader told the Sudanese Media Center (SMC), which has close links to the government.

SMC`s report did not say when the clashes took place. Tribal leader Mohammad Omar Al-Ansari told the news agency that the clashes continued throughout the day, killing at least 150 people and wounding 100 others. "He stressed that the Messiria are going to sit down with the parties to the conflict to separate them and sign a treaty to ensure peaceful coexistence between them," the news report said. The report added that a government delegation had traveled to the affected area on Thursday to assess the situation.