Shaaban Bilal (Khartoum, Cairo)
Tribal clashes witnessed in Sudan during the past few days, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries, amid attempts by the official and security authorities to control the situation, which was rejected locally and internationally.
The Wali of West Darfur State, Khamis Abdullah Abkar, said that joint forces arrested 177 people who participated in a tribal conflict in the “Azerni” area.
In December 2021, tribal violence took place in the “Azerni” area and nearby locations in West Darfur State, resulting in the killing of dozens of civilians and the displacement of thousands of others. Al-Wali said that “joint forces from the army, the Rapid Support Forces and the General Intelligence Service arrested 177 offenders, who participated in the tribal conflict in the Azerni region in West Darfur.”
Experts and political analysts have developed several scenarios to confront the renewal of tribal conflicts in Sudan, explaining that these conflicts are not new, but extend deep into history due to the conflict over pastures, land and others. Sudanese political analyst Othman Mirghani considered that tribal conflicts often arise from land ownership issues and sometimes disputes over economic resources, as is the case in the clashes of farmers and herders in Darfur states.
Mirghani added to Al-Ittihad that “in the past, the civil administrations used to resolve disputes according to local customs without the need for the central government to intervene, but with the increase in politics and the tendency of politicians to use the tribe as a tool in competition and political conflicts, the tribal agenda has become time bombs that explode for simple reasons. Like a conflict between two men, it is enough to trigger a war that kills hundreds.”
On strategies to confront these tribal conflicts, Mirghani added that “in the short term, it is necessary to work to strictly control security and prevent chaos, while in the long run the issue of the land-tribe relationship must be resolved through clear legislation, and then raise the level of development, services and living for all residents.”
In turn, Dr. Tamader Al-Tayeb, Professor of International Relations at the Center for Diplomatic Studies at the University of Khartoum, pointed out that the central government has been unable to solve tribal conflicts in a radical way, so it is renewed from time to time, adding that this time it has gained more momentum because the “Blue Nile” region. It is witnessing for the first time this conflict, and this indicates the weakness and fragility of the security situation. Regarding solutions to this crisis, Tamader Al-Tayeb told Al-Ittihad that nothing is on the horizon except for repeated talk about sending joint security forces and controlling the situation.
Asmahan Ismail Ibrahim, a Sudanese researcher in political science and international relations at the University of Khartoum, attributed the main cause of tribal conflicts in Sudan to competition for the acquisition of natural resources, especially the ownership of land, grazing and water resources, in addition to the revenge operations carried out by some tribes.
Asmahan Ibrahim agreed on the importance of the pivotal role of the leaders of the tribal administration in resolving conflicts and stopping the fighting, along with reconciliation efforts supported by official state institutions to limit the development of tribal conflicts and armed confrontations in Sudan in general and the states of Western, Eastern and Southern Sudan in particular. According to Asmahan, there are at least 400 tribes in Sudan that belong to approximately 41 ethnicities, classified according to language and culture, explaining that the roots of the conflicts go back to the 1930s.
The Sudanese researcher explained that “the real solution lies in addressing the roots of the crisis, foremost of which is balanced development, which will remove injustice and create a spirit of positive interaction among the components of the Sudanese people, as well as the discourse of reconciliation and the rejection of racist tribalism must be raised, and all regions of Sudan are represented in governance and the initiative of reconciliations between the warring tribes and compensation for those affected by Conflicts and politicians’ reluctance to include tribalism in politics.”
#Sudan #face #tribal #conflicts