6 people killed in renewed tribal clashes in North Darfur
June 24, 2014 (KHAROTUM) – Six people have been killed and twelve others injured on Sunday and Monday in renewed clashes between rival Arab Rizeigat (Aballa branch) and Beni Hussein tribes in Um Katira area in North Darfur state.
A tribal leader named Abdel-Hamid Khalil told Sudan Tribune that an armed group belonging to Beni Hussein on Sunday mistakenly attacked Rizeigat in an area west of Saraf Omra, 240km northwest of El Fasher, while they were chasing cattle robbers leading to fire exchange between the two groups.
Khalil said that four tribesmen from both sides died instantly and four others wounded, adding that clashes were renewed on Monday morning leading to the death of two people and eight injuries from the two sides.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Darfurian Arab Mahameed clan, Musa Hilal, accused the government of North Darfur state of fomenting sedition between the two tribes.
A source close to Hilal named, Hassan Ahmed Haroun, conveyed a statement from him to Sudan Tribune saying that supporters of North Darfur governor, Osman Kibir, who were driven out of the western localities by his militias sought to wreaking havoc and fomenting tribal feuds in order to gain a toehold in the area.
Violent clashes which took place between the two tribes last year in Jebel Amer area claimed the lives of 839 people and injured thousands others. Inter-tribal clashes erupted in January 2013 between members of the two tribes, fighting for control of the region’s gold mines.
The UN estimates that some 150,000 people have been displaced following a spate of attacks by armed Aballa militias, elements of which include the notorious Janjaweed forces, which hit the headlines 10 years ago for brutal atrocities allegedly committed at the behest of the Sudanese government.
Earlier this year, Hilal’s troops seized control of western localities in North Darfur state including Saraf Omra, Kutum, Kabkabiya, Al-Seraif, and El Waha.
The tribal chief announced establishment of administrations in these localities naming his forces the “Awakening Revolutionary Council”.
Last March, the head of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), Tijani El-Sissi warned against the rapidly deteriorating security situation in North and South Darfur states and criticized government for failing to restore security in the region, which has witnessed rebellion since 2003.
Sissi further said that the insecurity in North and South Darfur hampers the implementation of development projects. “What happens there will not be a catalyst to start in any reconstruction effort in those areas,” he added.
The leader of the former rebel Liberation and Equality Movement (LJM) urged the federal government to take the necessary measures to contain the attacks carried by the rebel groups emphasizing that the continuation of the current situation without decisive riposte or (political) solution will negatively impact the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), peace in Darfur and the country in general.
(ST)