At least 14 killed in rioting in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Police clashed with tribesmen Saturday in the Red Sea coastal city of Port Sudan, leaving at least 14 people dead and 16 injured, a government official said. The United Nations said police fired on peaceful demonstrators.

Riots involving Beja tribesmen broke out early Saturday in Port Sudan, 425 miles northeast of the capita, Khartoum, Red Sea governor General Hatim al-Wasilah told the Associated Press. The area is poor, and the rioting appeared to be economically motivated.

The casualties occurred when police tried to stop widespread looting and vandalism, al-Wasilah said. He said the situation was under control. He said 14 people were killed and 16 injured.

Aamir Tahir, a political leader in the Beja tribe, said 23 people died and 100 others were wounded. Speaking to the AP in Kenya from Saudi Arabia, he said police shot at demonstrators. He said that he was on the phone with someone in Port Sudan when gunfire erupted.

The U.S. Embassy in Sudan warned Americans living in Sudan to avoid unnecessary travel to Port Sudan. The official Sudanese News Agency said a dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed in the area for Saturday and today. Radhia Achouri, spokeswoman for the United Nations Mission in Sudan, said the clash could open a new front of violence in Sudan, where a nearly two-year-old conflict is raging in the western Darfur region, and a peace treaty was reached only this month to end the 21-year southern civil war.