Warring South Darfur tribesmen sign truce

Leaders of the Fallata and Rizeigat herders’ tribes signed a covenant on Wednesday, pledging to cease hostilities in South Darfur following clashes in which dozens of tribesmen were killed.

Heavy fighting between the two tribes broke out in South Darfur more than a week ago after cattle rustlers stole a number of livestock in Dimsu. A joint force of army soldiers and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militiamen was deployed to contain the situation. Large numbers of people fled to Katila. A total of 242 tribesmen have been arrested.

In the covenant, the two tribes agreed “to immediately stop all hostilities, combat insecurity and chaos in all parts of the state, secure the lives of all people, and intensify efforts to return the stolen money”. The leaders of the warring tribes will further investigate who instigated the fighting, and help bringing them to trial.

The representative of the Fallata, Daoud Marji, and the representative of the Rizeigat, Hamouda Salaheldin, as well authorised the RSF, Sudan’s main government militia, and the armed forces to arrest “the outlaws”.

The truce text signed by the two parties also called for the maintenance of water resources affected by the conflict, and the “urgent installation of new drinking water sources” needed to provide water for large groups of herders. In addition, all livestock passage routes in South Darfur should be opened and secured.

Lt Gen Abdelrahim Hamdan, the Deputy Commander of the RSF, Sudan’s main government militia, announced a meeting in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, today in which the collection of arms from members of six tribes in the state will be discussed.

He further said that “the false and transient news in the media [reported] by those with a hidden agenda have misled the regular forces, and prevented them from arresting the criminals”.

Hamdan’s brother Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti, Deputy Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and RSF Commander, also pointed to a complot in his comments on clashes that erupted in Kadugli, capital of South Kordofan, earlier this week.

On Monday, the Sudanese Security and Defence Council held a meeting in Khartoum to assess the widespread violence in the country and the possibilities for robust mechanisms to address it. The High Committee for the Collection of Weapons and Unlicensed Vehicles announced on Sunday it will deploy a joint force of army soldiers and RSF militiamen to confiscate illegally-held weapons and vehicles in the country.

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