Western Darfur belligerents sign peace pact

Farming and pastoral communities that had been involved in a bloody conflict in Sudan’s Western Darfur state signed a peace agreement on Saturday in the state capital, Al Geneina, Sudanese state television reported yesterday (Sunday). Scores, if not hundreds, of people have been killed or injured since late last year in the conflict between Masalit farmers and nomadic Arab communities over the control of scarce land and water resources. More than 60 villages were burnt, around 2,000 families fled to Al Geneina and more than 10,000 people sought refuge over the border in Chad.