South Darfur clashes aim to control gold areas, says tribal groups
April 4, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Falata tribal group leaders from South Darfur State on Monday accused influential parties in the military-led government of igniting recent attacks against their villages to control their lands rich in gold and other natural resources.
Heavily armed gunmen from the Arab Rezeigat tribe attacked and destroyed several Falata villages in Gereida and Tulus localities of South Darfur following an armed robbery in Alradoum locality on 27 March 2022.
An officer from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was killed during the robbery attack. Also, some 60 people were killed and hundreds wounded in the revenge attacks that lasted several days.
In a press conference held in Khartoum on Monday, Ahmed Abdel Mageed, a member of the Falata Sons Gathering, criticized the official authorities’ neglect of the humanitarian crisis caused by the bloody conflict.
He spoke about what he described as “a big scheme to evict the area from its residents because of the area’s resources.” He further pointed to the statements of the state governor about relocating them to Nyala if the tribal clashes continue to take place.
“The Governor’s statements openly reveal the government’s plan to evacuate the Fallata from their areas,” he said.
Abdel Mageed, accused the security forces of “favouritism” saying they did not intervene to stop the attack despite their prior knowledge.
He went further to say that RSF elements participated in the clashes and used four-wheel-drive vehicles belonging to the paramilitary force.
The Deputy Head of the Sovereign Council and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemetti” on April 1, ordered to stop the attacks and to use military aircraft if needed.
Chronic clashes occur in South Darfur between the Falata and Rezeigat groups. 72 people were reportedly killed and 73 injured on January 18, 2021.
For his part, Mohamed Saleh Idris, the head of the tribal gathering called to withdraw the RSF militia from their tribal areas.
“What happened was a planned political action to seize the resources of his tribe’s areas,” he said before calling for the withdrawal of the RSF from Dar al-Falata, accusing them of siding with the Rezeigat tribe.
in the same trend, Zainab Ali a member of the tribal gathering said that the recent bloody clashes are a conflict over natural resources to control the gold production areas that are located within the Falata lands.
” Whenever they hear that there is an area in which there is gold, copper and other minerals, they rush to control it by force of arms.”