Darfur: In tense situation, as simple brawl results in death and displacement
Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - When tension is high and mistrust has accumulated for decades, it takes a simple brawl over charging a mobile phone to unleash a tribal conflict leaving behind dozens dead and injured and thousands displaced.
According to local reports, another clash erupted in Bileil locality, near the regional capital of Nyala, when a young man was killed over disagreement on a simple process of electric charging of a mobile phone.
And though the author of the crime was arrested and put behind bars for trial, the reaction of his community was swift, resulting in the death and injury of 35 people and the displacement of hundreds of families.
These families were actually displaced returning to their villages. They had to run away, once again, bringing to over 10,000 people displaced anew in the region.
A report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Office in Khartoum indicated that “several return villages in Bileil locality were burnt”, including Amori, Gimaiza Arba, Saiengo, Um Himeada, Kamaski, Tagla and Doka.
The report said the villages belong to the Daijo tribe and are populated with more than 10,000 spontaneous and seasonal returnees from IDP camps including Kalma, Otash, Dereige and Bileil.
But since this situation in South Darfur Bileil locality, near the regional capital of Nyala, was a copy of the tension and mistrust in most areas that witnessed conflict in Darfur since 2003, the federal government quickly moved in this time again to reign any further development that could be a landslide.
These developments have, according to the Government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) in South Darfur brought the number of the displaced to an estimated 16,200 people.
The displaced have sought refuge in Dereige IDP camp in Nyala locality, Kalma and Bileil camps in Bileil locality and Domma IDP camp in Mershing locality.
Other displaced people moved to Tamara, Sheigei and Ta’aisha villages situated in Niteiga locality.
According to HAC, the displaced are “in dire need of humanitarian assistance as people have lost assets and food commodities while their villages were burnt.”
The United Nations earlier published a report reflecting the fragile situation in the areas where these clashes occurred saying some 292,229 people live in Bileil locality of whom about 246,339 need humanitarian assistance, according to the 2023 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO).
Khartoum dispatched the second most senior official, the First Vice President of the Sovereign Council, Lit General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, and Dr Hadi Idris, Member of the Sovereign Council- Sudan’s Collective Presidency- to the region, to use stick and carrot to restore calm and halt any possible escalation.
The two senior officials, accompanied by a high security delegation, toured not only the state where the clashes started but moved to Central Darfur State, and West Darfur States, the three states bordering Central African Republic and Chad
Daglo and Idris saw the deployment of whooping 138 well armed vehicles described by the official news agency as “combat vehicles to keep law and order” in Central Darfur States.
“We will tolerate no nonsense any more in dealing with the unruly elements, the criminals and the fifth columnists” Daglo was quoted by the official media as saying, sending a strong message during his two day tour in the affected region.
He said two committees formed to compile report on the causes of the clashes and those responsible and to propose immediate compensation for the displaced persons who were encouraged to go back to their home areas after the deployment of the forces and Daglo’s assurances.
The UN report meanwhile said government Security forces have been deployed to the areas and a state of emergency was declared on 24 December for Bileil locality, and a curfew was imposed from 18:00 to 06:00 until further notice.
These measures including the physical presence of the First Vice President along with another Senior Member of the Sovereign Council, coupled with the harsh language and no nonsense jargon used by the First Vice president seemed to have paid off now.
In the meantime the government, under constant pressure from both signatories and mentors of the 2021 Juba Peace Agreement for ending the conflict situation in Darfur, has started deployment of police and other regular forces that received training on peace keeping to Darfur, sending yet another message that words are now coupled with action.
It remains to be seen whether this visit and the deployment of forces there in addition to formation of a joint security and assessment committees to see how the displaced could be compensated and helped to return to their regions, would continue to hold on.
But for now “the security situation is calm but unpredictable", the UN report said.
-0- PANA MO/RA 7JAN2023
