North Darfur farmers, nomads agree to peaceful coexistence

Farmers and nomads in North Darfur signed an agreement on peaceful coexistence on Saturday. The “Peaceful Coexistence and Restoration of the Social Fabric” agreement was signed by representatives of villagers and nomads from the localities of El Fasher, Kutum, and Tawila, and the area of El Waha. The agreement’s text stipulates that the parties will not resort to violence, “for whatever reason”, harbour criminals, or cover their crimes. The signatories agreed to halt the torching of villages, and attacks on nomad caravans. The nomads committed themselves not to graze their livestock outside their pastures. The agreement will be reviewed every year on the 7th of February. The governor of North Darfur State, Osman Kibir, who attended the signing ceremony, promised to provide “all means that will maintain this social peace, as well as the required basic services for the nomads and the farmers”.He urged the establishment of “popular mechanisms” to disseminate the contents of the agreement to all villages and nomads’ settlements. File photo: A displaced farmer of Dali camp in Tawila locality, North Darfur, is ploughing his rented piece of land in the rainy season (Albert González Farran/Unamid)