Gimr and Beni Halba tribes sign treaty in South Darfur

Leaders of the warring Gimr and Beni Halba tribes signed a ceasefire agreement on Friday in South Darfur following a week of renewed hostilities in the state’s Katayla locality. The event was attended by the governors of East and South Darfur.The treaty was signed by seven members of each tribe. It established that gatherings of militants must immediately disperse and that government troops would be deployed to areas bordering the Gimr stronghold of Katayla and the Beni Halba stronghold at Ed El Fursan, in order to create a buffer zone.Gimr Spokesman Abkar Al Toum told Radio Dabanga this is the fourth agreement the two tribes have signed “in a short period of time”. He stressed the Gimr are committed to respecting “all that is written and signed” but noted that the documents “would not have any purpose” unless they are implemented on the ground.“The mobilization process among the Beni Halba is still ongoing,” Toum said, noting that the death toll among the Gimr continues to increase: since clashes resumed last Friday, by Wednesday 32 people have been killed, with 12 more fatalities over the last 48 hours. Toum asserted that as there is enough evidence of violations, the perpetrators should be held accountable.The spokesman stressed that the Gimr do not have any links with rebel movements and that his fellow tribesmen are not bandits. These, he continued, are two things that lead to instabilities in Darfur and the rest of Sudan.“The Gimr are peaceful people and we are ready to take part in the peace process in Darfur and in Sudan”, he concluded.The Governor of South Darfur, Adam Mahmoud Jar Al Nabi has said that he will assure the implementation of the treaty, noting that this is the beginning of a new phase. He will also ensure that the warring parties return to the negotiating table and discuss how to compensate each others’ losses.However, Nabi suggested that the Gimr and Beni Halba not raise the issue of Hawakeer (land rights) at the negotiation table, because “this is the responsibility of the central government and no one has the right to speak about it”.The Governor of East Darfur, Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha urged the tribes to “listen to the voice of reason” and think about their families “who are in dire need of development and stability, not of provocations and displacement”.Kasha stressed that the governments of South and East Darfur will work together to ensure that no future clashes erupt between the Gimr and the Beni Halba.Earlier this year, a dispute over land ownership between the tribes left eight dead (four members of each tribe) and four wounded in South Darfur. 750 families were displaced when six villages in the area of Edd Al Fursan were burned as a result of the battles.Clashes between both tribes resumed following a relatively stable period since February. Both sides accuse of each other of breaching a previously signed peace treaty.A reconciliation conference stemming from that treaty was postponed twice and eventually delayed “indefinitely”. Members of the two sides blame the state’s government for poor organisation of the conference leading to its “failure”. Last Friday afternoon as clashes resumed, the South Darfur government issued a decree stipulating that the Gimr land in Katayla locality would be allocated to the Beni Halba.Gimr delegations said the government’s resolutions contravened the Sudanese constitution and asked them to be withdrawn before they re-joined negotiations, sources said.Radio Dabanga file photoRelated: Casualties rise to 112 in South Darfur tribal dispute (2 May 2013)