It is being reported that more people have died in tribal violence in South Sudan than in Darfur since the peace deal was signed in 2005.  While the tragedy in Darfur should never be downplayed, it’s important to note that the south is now slipping back into its state of widespread insecurity from which the peace deal was supposed to have rescued them.
 
Most of the recent deaths in the south have been caused by inter-tribal fighting, usually linked to land rights.  As the rainy season arrives, the traditional competition for the best grazing areas for cattle and other livestock becomes more intense.

Central Sudan, particularly in the state of Southern Kordofan, has been hit by heavy fighting recently.  Last week it was reported that perhaps as many as 250 people had been killed in clashes between the Rizeigat and Misseriya, two Arab nomadic tribes that populate the area around the Nuba Mountains.

These sorts of tribal fights over access to the best grazing lands have been at the heart of many of Sudan’s bloody wars throughout history.

Thousands have now died in the recent fighting, thousands have been displaced and whole villages have been razed in the south.  One reports shares that over 200 people are being killed each day.

Many of the south’s key oil regions, among them Jonglei and Upper Nile, have been paralyzed in recent months by bloody tribal clashes linked to long-standing rows over cattle.
 
Analysts fear that the renewed fighting could spread among the territory’s highly armed population, which is growing increasingly angry at the slow spread of development.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, who has blamed the spike in fighting on troublemakers intent on showing that the south cannot rule itself, says he expects conflicts to worsen before the national elections in 2010 and a referendum on southern independence set for 2011.