Minnawi blames military rulers for tribal violence in Sudan
October 24, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Minni Arko Minnawi, leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) blamed his allied military rulers for the eruption of tribal conflict in several parts of the country.
Minnawi was reacting to the bloody inter-communal clashes that sparked in the Blue Nile and West Kordofan during the past weeks, as tribal violence across the country characterized the one-year rule of a military-led government established following the October 25, 2022, coup.
In an open letter to the Sudanese and particularly to the troubled areas of Blue Nile, Darfur and Kordofan, Minnawi said that this violence is triggered by “hidden forces” to show that “the Juba Agreement is the enemy of the homeland and the people (…),” he said.
On Sunday, a tribal leader in the Blue Nile Obaid Abu Shotal rejected the Juba Peace Agreement saying it ignored the natives of the region and gave power to the tribal component of the SPLM-N leader Malik Agar, the Angassana ethnic group.
He also accused Agar and the SPLM-N-nominated Governor of the Blue Nile region of backing the Hausa’s claim to establish a tribal chiefdom in the region.
However, the SLM leader who is appointed governor of the Darfur region in accordance with the contested Juba peace agreement blamed the military rulers for not curbing the spread of tribal disputes.
“My message to the official organs, I repeat that the problem is with you and the full responsibility rests on your shoulders,” he wrote, addressing his military allies that he supported when they overthrow the civilian government one year ago.
“If you have hands in what is going on, please stop politicizing bleeding and death. If you are innocent, I ask God to show your innocence and that you strive to resolve a conflict and avoid its occurrence,” he stressed.
The Sudanese Revolutionary Movement (SRF) led by al-Handi Idris on October 21 urged the “central authority” to stop tribal valence in the country, restore state authority and protect civilians.
Malik Agar, Hadi Idris and Tahir Hajar are members of the Sovereign Council, but the military-led body did not hold a meeting since last June.
Some 200 people were killed following the recent surge of inter-communal fighting in the Blue Nile and West Kordofan. Also, the violence forced some 70,000 people to flee their homes in the Blue Nile and 16,251 others in West Kordofan.
(ST)