Settlement of returnees in IDPs area is source of conflict in Darfur: report
January 2, 2016 (EL-FASHER) – The settlement of former refugees who returned from Chad in a land owned by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Central Darfur is a potential source of conflict between the two ethnic groups, said a UN report.
The Salamat who had fled their home areas in Um Dukhun area in 2013 due to tribal clashes with the Misseriya tribe decided to move back to Sudan as after a decision by the Chadian authorities to close their camp in Abu Gadam not far from the Sudanese border.
“The Government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) in Central Darfur is concerned about the returns to Muradaf village as the village belongs to the Fur tribe who are currently displaced in camps in Um Dukhun. If the Salamat settle in the village, conflict with the landowners is possible,” said the UNHCR in its weekly bulletin released on 31december 2015.
According to the report, the government plans to relocate the returnees in Um Dukhun area to avoid a conflict with owners of the land from the Fur tribe who are currently displaced in camps in Um Dukhun, the area of the returnees.
A report prepared by a humanitarian assessment team which was in the area last November says the returnees are in need of emergency shelter and household supplies as well as water and sanitation services,
However, the returnees say they preferred not to return to their area south of Um Dukhun expressing fears for their lives, and pointing for the continued presence of Misseriya there.
Tribal fighting between the two tribes over landownership forced thousands of Salamat to flee Um Dukhun to the remote town of Tissi south east of Chad. Many of them refused to leave their makeshift camp and move to UN camps for refugees inside the country.
More than 1000 people were killed and over 500 wounded in a series of attacks and revenge attacks between the two Arab tribes. Reports from the region still indicate attacks by Misseriya elements on the Salamat villages.
The government deployed troops from central and northern Sudan in the region following accusations of active and passive support to the Misseriya fighters by their members in the government forces.
(ST)