150 killed in Sudan clans battle

At least 150 people were killed and 100 more injured in a battle between rival Sudanese clans near an oil-drilling site, state-linked media reported on Thursday night. The fighting in West Kordofan state between two sub-groups of the Misseriya tribe ‘continued all day because of a land dispute near the oil field,’ said Mohammed Omer Al-Ansari, a tribal leader. He was quoted by the Sudanese Media Centre, which is close to the security apparatus. The report said Zurug and Awlad Amran clans of the Misseriya tribe clashed in that area. Earlier, a tribal source said at least 41 people died when the two sides fought with Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades last month. The combat broke out as each group claimed ownership of a plot of land where drilling for oil is under way, a witness to the earlier fighting said. Inter-communal clashes, particularly in the Darfur region adjacent to West Kordofan, have worsened over the past two years as Sudan's economy weakened, according to AFP.