A new massacre grieves Darfur. After more than 80 deaths this weekend in the west, this time it is the south of the Sudanese province that is affected. Tribal clashes have left at least 55 people dead and 37 injured, according to local sources. Here again, it is a matter of fighting between Arab and non-Arab tribes.
The governor announced a curfew and the sending of reinforcements from East Darfur. The al-Tawil region was the scene of fighting between the Arab Rizeigat tribe and the non-Arab Fallatas after a murder followed by revenge that had already resulted in several deaths a week ago. The two communities regularly confront each other in a cycle of violence and reprisals spanning decades.
As early as last year, a conflict between the two groups broke out following a cattle rustling incident. Mediation led to the signing of an immediate cessation of hostilities in May. Three months later, the leaders of the Rizeigats and Fallatas signed a formal agreement during a reconciliation conference in Nyala.
The text provided for the payment of a diya, a financial compensation that perpetrators pay to their victims. The document also promised the urgent organisation of meetings to improve economic opportunities, pave roads, provide water resources, places for nomads to pass through, clinics, schools and telecommunications networks.
A list that shows that the lack of infrastructure and access to resources is at the heart of tensions in Darfur. Added to this is resentment between the two tribes. The Rizeigats had allied themselves with the sinister Janjawid militia responsible for ethnic cleansing during the civil war.