KHARTOUM: At least 60 people have been killed and another 60 injured in violence in Sudan's West Darfur region, the United Nations (UN) said in a statement on Sunday (local time).
About 500 militants attacked the village of Masteri in the West Darfur state on Saturday afternoon, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the statement cited by Xinhua.
"This was one of the latest of a series of security incidents reported over the last week that left several villages and houses burned, markets and shops looted, and infrastructure damaged," it said.
The clashes between different tribes in the region occurred earlier Saturday and lasted until late Sunday, state-run SUNA news agency reported, citing anonymous sources.
Recent violence by militants in the region prompted authorities to declare a state of emergency on July 13.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said that the government will send security forces to the restive region to protect citizens during the farming season.
The announcement was made several days after unidentified gunmen killed more than 20 farmers in the region as they returned to their fields.
The escalation of violence in different parts of Darfur region is triggering increased displacement, compromising the agricultural season, causing loss of lives and livelihoods, said the UN.
The western Sudanese region of Darfur has been plagued by conflicts between government forces and the indigenous population since 2003.
The government is negotiating with several rebel groups from Darfur and other regions to halt years of civil unrest.