13 die in East Darfur tribal clash

13 people were reportedly killed, others wounded, and two vehicles were destroyed in clashes that broke out between gunmen from the Rizeigat and Ma’aliya tribes in the Tor Taan area of Yassin locality in East Darfur on Sunday.

Numerous callers told Radio Dabanga about the clash in which the government allegedly intervened, and sent reinforcements to the area to contain.

The dead and wounded were moved to Nyala hospital in North Darfur. Among the dead is a leader named Kharif. Another leader named Savannah is among the wounded.

The incident created tension across East Darfur. Callers to Radio Dabanga urged the governments of East and South Darfur to take immediate action to deter the lawlessness before it leads to renewed confrontations between the two sides.

Blood money

Hundreds were killed on both sides in bloody clashes in April and May 2015, that broke out after a spate of cases of cattle rustling by both sides. The violence ended in an uneasy peace, brokered by leaders of the Dar Hamid tribe.

The Sudanese Minister of Justice, Mohamed Bushara Dosa, ordered the formation of a Central Investigation Committee, consisting of senior officials of the Justice, Defence, and Interior Ministries, the security apparatus, the Military Intelligence, and the Higher Federal Affairs Council, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the clashes.

In March 2015, a reconciliation conference between the two tribes, which was held under the auspices of Sudan’s first vice-president, had stalled over hawakeer (traditional ownership of land).

As reported yesterday by Radio Dabanga, the Central Darfur Governor Jaafar Abdelhakam, has issued a decision halting government payment of any ‘blood money’ to any party that commits a murder during armed clashes between tribes.