Sudan’s Bashir to personally oversee tribal conflict management: official

July 3, 2013, (KHARTOUM) – The speaker of the parliament, Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir, has disclosed that president Omer Hassan al-Bashir will oversee the dossier of the tribal conflicts in the country to seek a resolution to its growing prevalence.

Late last month, Bashir warned against tribal strife in some areas of the country, noting that Sudan is facing challenges that need cooperation of all its people.

“The tribal conflicts in a number of Sudan’s areas constitute the biggest threat to the country,” Bashir said when addressing a meeting of the Shura (consultative) Council of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

“Some people inside the tribes work to instigate the conflicts” he said, warning against the danger of such moves.

Al-Tahir said yesterday that tribal conflicts in Darfur are unjustified and noted that they represent a serious threat to the social fabric in the region, accusing unidentified bodies of fueling it to destroy the community.

He added that tribal conflicts could move to other parts of Sudan and warned that all countries in the region have disintegrated and became preoccupied with internal conflicts, citing the divide among Egyptian people.

Tribal clashes have recently mounted in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Over 40 people were killed and about 45 others injured in fresh clashes between Al-Salamat and Misseriya tribes in Central Darfur state lats month.

Around the same time 9 people were killed and dozens fled their homes when violence erupted between Al-Gimir and Bani Halba tribes in the town of Katela in South Darfur.

The speaker further noted that we have to maintain our unity, saying that we must not repeat the same mistakes which led to disintegration in neighboring countries.

In a separate issue, some MP’s called for sending a parliamentary delegation to South Sudan in order to revive the brotherly relations between the two countries and strengthen peace.

MP Ahmed Saleh Salouha underscored the distinctive social relations between the countries, saying that it must be invested for maintain peace.

He said that the parliament, not only the government, should work towards protecting relations between the countries, calling upon lawmakers to visit Abyei area to find out the situation on the ground.

(ST)