A new wave of heavy fighting in Sudan’s Blue Nile state, on the border with Ethiopia and South Sudan, has recently left well over 200 people dead, hundreds wounded and thousands displaced, putting once again the country’s military rulers in the spotlight.

The violence, which has a strong tribal character and erupted in mid-October mainly over power, wealth and land disputes, has involved the Hausa tribe and the Funj group, and it has been mostly concentrated in seven towns on the east bank of the Blue Nile near the Roseires dam, according to local media and humanitarian aid agencies.

The renewed clashes add additional pressure on the generals who seized power in Sudan in 2021 and have since been unable to ensure security and accountability in the country. The coup generals have been blamed for exacerbating existing political tensions and old disputes, and for creating a security vacuum that cleared the way for this type of violence.

“There is a strong connection between the resurgence of tribal conflicts in the Blue Nile and the absence of civil rule,” Anas Jerjawi, Euro-Med Monitor’s chief operating officer, told Al-Monitor. “This is due to the foundations and priorities that underpin civil and military rule.”