‘Government behind tribal conflicts in Darfur’: JEM

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) accused the Sudanese government of causing the clashes that erupted last week between Misseriya and Salamat tribesmen in Central Darfur. JEM appealed to the Salamat and Misseriya to stop fighting each other and reconciliate. “We urge both parties to keep far from government interventions, as the government is the cause of the problem.” Speaking to Radio Dabanga, Abakar Hassan Hamedein, JEM Secretary of Social Affairs, said that “the Khartoum regime is nourishing these conflicts in order to distract the public opinion from their real intention, which is breaking up the Darfuri community, and stay in power.” “The tribes did not obtain all these heavy weapons by themselves. It is the regime that armed the tribesmen, and absorbed all their sons in militias like the Popular Defence Forces, the Border Guards, the Border Intelligence, and the Rapid Defence Forces.” Hamedein reiterated his movement’s conviction that the “overthrow of the Khartoum regime” is the only solution to achieve peace and stability in Darfur. File photo Related:Tribal tension rising in North Darfur, relative calm in Central Darfur (24 June 2014) Sudan’s army to deter tribal clashes in Central Darfur (23 June 2014) More than 100 dead and wounded in Central Darfur tribal strife (22 June 2014) New ‘explosive’ Salamat-Misseriya tension in Central Darfur (16 June 2014)