Commission to probe recent tribal violence in Gireida, South Darfur

The Governor of South Darfur has announced the formation of a commission of inquiry to investigate the recent clashes between Fellata and Masalit tribesmen in Gireida.

Maj. Gen. Adam Mahmoud Jarelnabi stressed to reporters in the state capital Nyala on Tuesday that the law applies to all perpetrators in Gireida.

In a press statement, the state MP for the Gireida constituency, Omar Mohamed Ibrahim, said that the violence occurred after a member of the Fellata abducted a nine-year-old child from Abyad camp for the displaced near Gireida.

The parents arranged a “rescue team” to search for the kidnappers. The tracks led them to El Dikka Saadoun village, where they demanded the perpetrator be handed over. When the perpetrator refused, he was killed. Seven other Fellata tribesmen were injured. The village was destroyed by fire, according to the MP.

In retaliation, armed Fellata attacked the camp and the town on Sunday and Monday, and torched El Shati and El Rahman districts. 18 Masalit were killed and wounded.

A sheikh of the Abyad camp told Dabanga that in an attack by “government-backed militiamen” on the camp on Sunday evening, three displaced were killed, and many others were injured. A “rescue team” found the attackers in Saadoun on Monday morning. They demanded that the perpetrators be handed-over, but returned to the camp empty-handed. A few hours later, “a group of militiamen in vehicles, and others on camels and horses attacked the camp again, as well as the neighbouring districts of El Shati and El Rahman,” the sheikh said.

The security situation in Gireida and surroundings has been deteriorating for months, owing to continuous attacks by gunmen, most of whom belonging to Arab pastoralist tribes.