Misseriya and Rizeigat sign peace agreement

Two feuding Darfuri Arab tribes yesterday in Zalingei agreed to a final document containing terms for peace. Misseriya and Rizeigat fighters had been at odds since the conflict began in early March. The reconciliation yesterday was celebrated with a ceremony at the local university, attended by the state governor, national judicial and legislative figures, senior military and police officials and members of the Native Authority, according to a statement from the UN Mission that sent observers to the reconciliation conference.The delegations of the Misseriya and Rizeigat Nuwayba voiced their commitment to the contents of the agreement and to promote love and tolerance between them. Al Haj Khaddam Mohamed Abdelkarim, the head of the Nuwayba in western Darfur, told Radio Dabanga that he is committed to the agreement and he called on all the tribe to implement it.

For his part, Omda Yusef Isaag, spokesman of a group of Misseriya delegates from Zalingei, said that the agreement provided for compensation and return of displaced civilians, as well as a mechanism for follow-up. He stressed the delegation’s commitment to the terms of the final reconciliation.

More than 200 people have died in clashes since this March, and hundreds have been displaced, according to the UN-African Union peacekeepers. Efforts at peace included a reconciliation committee established on 29 April involving native administrators and local leaders, and last month another conference in Zalingei involving higher profile state leaders.

(Radio Dabanga File Photo of camels in Zalingei)