KHARTOUM, Oct 15 (Reuters) – At least five people were killed and nine injured in tribal clashes between members of the Miseriya and Nuba tribes in Sudan’s West Kordofan state, the country’s military said on Saturday.

The incident is the latest in a wave of tribal violence that has swept across the country, despite the signing of a nationwide peace deal two years ago.

The fighting, which occurred on Friday and Saturday in the town of Lagawa, was brought under control after intervention by the army and Rapid Support Forces, as well as police, a military statement said.

Lagawa lies outside a part of the state controlled by rebel leader Abdelaziz al-Hilu’s faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), which has not signed up to the peace deal.

The group, whose army includes members of the Nuba tribe, has long been at odds with the Sudanese government, and members of the Arab Miseriya tribe have participated in the conflict.

In a statement on Friday, however, SPLM-N denied any involvement in the violence in Lagawa or any enmity towards the Miseriya, describing the events as the result of a dispute over land in the town.

Separately on Friday, nine Arab tribesmen arrived in Khartoum after being held captive by the SPLM-N.

Their release followed talks between the group’s leadership, Sudan’s sovereign council head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and South Sudanese brokers, a separate military statement said, describing the release as a “goodwill gesture”.

Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by David Clarke

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