[1] Conflict between nomadic tribes in Sudan is common, with fights breaking out over scarce resources, including grazing land, cattle and drinking water.

[4] Early 2009 saw several instances of fighting between nomadic tribes in Sudan which killed around 900 people, mainly women and children, in the south of the country.

[4] The interior minister, Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamad, has pledged to bring those responsible for the fighting to justice and to take steps to disarm civilians.

[5] The United Nations Mission in Sudan, which earlier in May deployed 120 peacekeepers to Jonglei state to prevent tribal conflict, is also investigating.

[8] Whilst fighting in the area appears to have calmed down, the situation remains tense and there are concerns over security for the February national general election.

[5] The 2009 Sobat River ambush was a battle between Jikany Nuer tribesmen and the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) which was escorting a United Nations (UN) aid convoy on 12 June 2009.

Early morning on 2 August 2009, more than 180 members of the Lou Nuer community were killed, more than 30 others injured and further numbers were declared missing in a "well coordinated and planned" attack carried out whilst they were fishing for food, allegedly by Murle fighters.

The Sudanese army denied being involved in fighting in the area but a spokesman for the Arab United Revolutionary Force Front said that helicopters and jets had attacked their positions, killing seven civilians and two fighters.

The fighting occurred in disputed grazing lands in the Fardus area of South Kordofan, which lies on the traditional migratory route of the tribe.

The UN peacekeeping force warned that increasing levels of violence were threatening the nation of South Sudan and urged the resumption of peace talks.

[26] The Lou Nuer stated that they were acting because the government had failed to stop the violence and that they intended to capture the Murle's county headquarters at Pibor and disarm the tribe.

[29] The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reacted by deploying a battalion of peacekeepers to Pibor where 6,000 armed youths were said to be headed to attack the Murle there.

[30] The South Sudanese government also deployed a battalion of army personnel to Pibor where they have taken up positions on the outskirts of town to dissuade any attack.

[30] It had taken a day and a half to transfer just two armoured personnel carriers to the town and a convoy of reinforcements sent by truck was forced to turn back due to poor road conditions.

[33][34] The healthcare charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says that it has lost contact with 130 of its staff who were forced to flee into the bush due to the attack.

The UN said that it had successfully held the main part of Pibor alongside South Sudanese army troops but that an MSF clinic had been overrun.

[38] On 5 January 2012, the South Sudan Council of Ministers, led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit, declared the state of Jonglei a humanitarian disaster zone.

[42] On 1 March 2012, the South Sudanese government announced that it had regained full control of Pibor from tribal forces and ordered remaining Lou Nuer tribesmen to return to their homes.

[43] On 9 March 2012, it was alleged that Murle tribesmen had taken control of a number of Lou Nuer camps and villages in the Akobo County of Jonglei and wounded hundreds of people, in spite of a campaign by 12,000 SPLA troops to disarm civilians in the area.

[44] The fighting caused at least 200 deaths and occurred in an area inaccessible by road to South Sudan's security forces, the Murle accessing it through neighbouring Ethiopia.

Control of the Jebel Amer gold mine in El Sireaf, North Darfur was a key aim of the rival Bani Hussein and Rizeigat tribes.

[47] Figures released by a member of the ruling National Congress Party in late February placed casualties in the Jebel Amer fighting to be 510 killed and 865 wounded.

[48] Fresh violence at Jebel Amer in North Darfur erupted on 21 February 2013 when Rizeigat attacked men from the Bani Hussein, leaving 21 dead and 33 wounded in an eight-hour engagement.

[53] On 1 March 2013, seven people died and four were injured in a fight between members of the Al-Gimir and Bani Halba tribes in South Darfur, Sudan.

[54] Later in March 2013, reconciliation meetings organised by state officials took place between rival tribes to bring to an end the conflict over the Jebel Amer gold mine.

Attempts at mediation failed and open fighting occurred from 4 April 2013 with the Misseriya burning a local government office in Abugaratil, south of Umm Dukhun, before looting the village.

[61] At the end of May 2013, clashes between the Al-Gimir and Bani Halba tribes in South Darfur left 64 people dead and dozens wounded from both sides.

The Al-Gimir claimed to have held the disputed land for the last 300 years and that the Bani Halba had been assisted by uniformed men equipped with government-issue weapons.

[66] According to the government of Ethiopia, the death toll from a cross-border raid carried out by attackers from South Sudan in the Gambela Region on 15 April 2016 rose to 208 from a figure of 140 a day earlier, with 108 children being kidnapped and over 2,000 livestock being stolen in the process.

[67][68] An Ethiopian official says 28 people were killed and 43 children kidnapped by Murle tribe armed members between 10 and 12 March 2017 near the border between Gambela Region of Ethiopia and South Sudan.