Nyala – Darfur 24
The war between the Beni Halba and Salamat tribes has exceeded its second month, and the battles between the fighters of the two tribes are still continuing despite the huge loss of lives on both sides.
villages have been burned , towns attacked the relationships between families that had been intermarrying and coexisting for decades have been sabotaged.
Various types of weapons have been used in the two tribes disastrous conflict .Members of the two tribes are from the ranks of the Rapid Support forces RSF, and some were captured from the armed forces in the battles taking place between the army and the Rapid Support in the cities of Khartoum and Darfur.
Accusations against Army Intelligence
In the midst of this destructive war and fierce fighting, accusations are circulating among the intellectuals of the Salamat and Bani Halba tribes that the hands of the Sudanese army’s military intelligence are behind the ignition of this war. Some justify these accusations by saying that the fighters of the two tribes in the ranks of the Rapid Support Forces, most of whom withdrew to support their tribe in the tribal fighting.
Darfur 24 monitored the return of large numbers of fighters from the two tribes from Khartoum, some of them using combat vehicles and equipment from the Rapid Support Forces. This coincided with the army in the city of Zalingei being able to break the siege imposed on it last August, after many of the Rapid Support fighters from the two tribes withdrew from the adjacent city.
For conflict areas, this is reinforced by members of the two tribes who appeared in video clips from areas that witnessed battles, using four-wheel drive vehicles and wearing RSF uniforms.
The Darfur Bar Association said earlier that most of the weapons and vehicles used in the war between the two tribes belong to the Rapid Support Forces, and in a statement seen by Darfur24, it called on them to arrest the armed elements who wear their uniforms and use their vehicles to carry out killing, devastation and destruction in the areas of bloody conflicts between the Beni Halba and the Salamat in South Darfur State.
The Independent Darfuri Human Rights Commission stated that most of the weapons and vehicles used belong to the Rapid Support Forces.
Meanwhile, s leading figures of the Salamat tribe, Omar Yusuf Muhammad, linked the recent incidents between the two tribes to the government’s absence to perform its role by interfering between the two parties. He said that the ignition of the strife was done by some unruly armed elements with RSF aiming to destroy the region. He added: “We apologize to our people, Bani Halba, and what happened must be resolved. It will be restored immediately and everyone who participated in it will be prosecuted.”
He revealed that they had monitored a number of rogue members of their tribe participating in the fighting in the areas. They will be handed over to rapid support forces. He said that the Salamat tribe is innocent of every rogue, and Omar sent a message to the people of Bani Halba to stop mobilizing thousands of fighters after the mediation taken by the administrations of the Salamat tribe in South and Central Darfur states to stop hostilities and return to peace.
Musa Hilal initiative
All efforts did not succeed in stopping the war between the Salamat and Beni Halba. Even the initiative of the head of the Sudanese Revolutionary Awakening Council, Musa Hilal, who has influence and standing among many Arab tribes in Darfur, did not bring anything new. Last week, Musa Hilal announced an initiative for reconciliation between the two tribes, and the civil leader said that He continued to follow with concern the war taking place between the Beni Halba and Salamat tribes, and he added in a statement – seen by Darfur 24 – “The Sudanese Revolutionary Awakening Council officially announces an initiative to stop the war between the Beni Halba and Salamat tribes and reconcile them, and I will lead it personally in my capacity as head of the Awakening Council and one of the leaders of the native administration, and with us Leaders of the civil administration figures, and community leaders from the states of Darfur and some other states of Sudan”.
Hilal appealed to the two tribes to stop this war and return to the voice of reason and wisdom.
Mediation by RSF leaders to resolve the conflict between the two tribes
Information was released last week indicating that the second commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Lieutenant General Abdul Rahim Daglo, had arrived in South Darfur state for the purpose of seeking to resolve the conflict between the Beni Halba and the Salamat. Darfur 24 later learned that leaders from the Beni Halba tribe rejected “Daglo”’s efforts when he met them in the Umm area, Um Zaifa, 44 kilometers west of Nyala, the state capital.
One of the prominent civil leaders in the Darfur region told Darfur 24 that Abdel Rahim Dagalo’s Initiative was rejected by some of the civil leaders of the Beni Halba tribe, whom he met in the Umm Zaifa area, before he left for the city of Kass to meet community leaders of Salamat tribe.
But Dagalo then seen leading the battles of his forces against the army in the city of Nyala at a time when fierce battles continued between the people of the two tribes, which are among the tribes supporting the Rapid Support Forces in their war against the Sudanese Armed Forces.