At least 30 people were killed and dozens injured in armed clashes between members of the Hamar [11] and Misseriya [12] pastoralist groups in Sudan's West Kordofan state, local leaders reported Dec. 12. A Hamar militia that had been organized to protect against cattle rustlers was apparently ambushed by Misseriya gunmen in the locality of Abu Zabad, setting off the violence. Hamar leaders charge that state authorities and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF [13]) are protecting Misseriya bands that raid their lands with impunity. (Sudan Tribune [17], Dabanga [18]) Six were also killed in a clash in September between the two groups in a dispute over the demarcation line between their territories. (Dabanga [15])
On Dec. 5, an accord calling for a transition to civilian rule was signed by leaders of Sudan's military regime and the country's largest civil coalition, the Forces of Freedom & Change (FFC [13]), at the Republican Palace in Khartoum. In response to the signing, the pro-democracy Resistance Committee called for continued protests, saying that any deal must include provisions for transitional justice and reform of the security forces. Such provisions were put off for a second accord, which is to spell out details of the power transfer. (Al Jazeera [19], UN News [20])
