South Darfur tribal leaders sign reconciliation document

Leaders of the Rizeigat and Mararit tribes signed a reconciliation document in the South Darfur capital Nyala on Saturday.

The agreement provides for the establishment of a joint mechanism between the two ethnic groups. The authorities of El Salam locality will expel 12 militant tribesmen and their families from the Abu Salala administrative unit and its surroundings. The markets of Abu Salala will be reopened as soon as possible.

The two parties also agreed that they will not harbour criminals or acquire more arms and motorcycles. They will re-open pastures and herders tracks, and establish a police station and two extra police posts in the area.

Clashes that erupted between Rizeigat and Mararit in El Salam locality in 2017 left nine dead and 11 injured. A mediation team managed to contain the conflict by defining the blood money to be paid to the relatives of the victims, and the planning  of a reconciliation conference in Nyala.

The governor of South Darfur, Mousa Mahdi, said that the peace agreement reached will be a roadmap for solutions of conflicts between the Taaysha and Fallata, the Masaleet and Abu Darag, and the multi-ethnic problems in the area of Hejeir Tojo.

Last month, the Rizeigat and Fallata tribes signed a reconciliation document in Nyala as well.

The Rizeigat are nomadic Arab herders. In South Darfur they mainly herd cattle. During the war in Darfur at the beginning of this century Rizeigat herders joined the Janjaweed militia, that was responsible for ethnic cleansing. The Mararit, most of them Muslims, are Fur and speak a Nilo-Saharan language.

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