KHARTOUM, Sudan
A senior official in West
Darfur State Tuesday warned against the potential consequences of a civil war
engulfing the entire western Sudan region, following the looting of thousands
of weapons from the police’s weapons
depots in El Geneina.RSF fighters pose for a photo in Khartoum
Last week, violent clashes
erupted between the national army and the Rapid Support Forces in El Geneina.
The fighting later turned into a tribal conflict between the Masalit and Arab
tribes.
The violence resulted in over
90 deaths, massive infrastructure destruction, and widespread looting of
government institutions, international organization headquarters, and
civilians’ homes.
According to the official who
spoke to our reporter under anonymity, armed men from the Masalit ethnic group
managed to acquire approximately 7,000 weapons, including heavy weapons, after
raiding a police chief’s armoury.
He believes that the
possession of government weapons by conflicting tribes is an indication that an
all-out civil war may occur shortly.
The official accused unnamed
military parties of aiding tribal militants in accessing storage sites for
government weapons and looting them in an attempt to cause chaos and break the
security contract.
He also revealed that the
State Security Committee asked traditional leaders of the Native Administration
to help return the looted weapons to the police stores, but their efforts were
unsuccessful.
However, Mohamed Hasaballah, a
Masalit tribe leader, denied any connection between his tribe and the looting
of weapons from government depots or any intention to arm themselves to face a
potential new war.
He instead accused the
paramilitary forces of participating in the fresh tribal clashes and arming
their Arab tribes.
Meanwhile, activists from
Darfur Arab groups called in audio recordings for the support of their fellow
tribesmen in Chad and Niger.
For their part, Darfur tribes’
activists are calling for arming to take revenge on the RSF militiamen, who
have been accused of participating in tribal fighting in Darfur over the past
three years.
In statements to the Sudan
Tribune, the head of the Shura Council of the Gamar tribe, Abkar Altom, warned
that the situation in the entire Darfur region is likely to explode at any
moment, given the continued military mobilization of the population groups.
Altom criticized the West
Darfur State Security Committee for allowing tribal militias to invade El
Geneina, kill citizens, and loot government institutions and international
organization headquarters.
Mediation led by leaders from
the Native Administration and the Governor of South Darfur, Hamid al-Tijani
Hanoun, resulted in a temporary halt to the fighting between the army and the
Rapid Support Forces...
However, Local observers say
the fighting is likely to renew on tribal lines, in light of the continued influx
of tribal militants into areas under the control of the Rapid Support Forces in
eastern Nyala.
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