Rizeigat, Misseriya conference begins in West Kordofan

15/09/2015 15:00

A reconciliation conference between the warring Rizeigat and Misseriya tribes has started in West Kordofan, with both sides affirming their keenness to achieve reconciliation.

The leaders of the tribes said they will be committed to the results of the forum, being held at El Salam University of Babanusa locality, under the auspices of the First Vice-President of Sudan, Bakri Hassan Saleh. They hope that this will be “the last reconciliation conference at the dawn of a peaceful coexistence between the tribes”.

During the opening session, Rizeigat chief Mahmoud Musa Madibo called on the state to implement the results on the ground, to form a strong and transparent mechanism to monitor its implementation, and to provide all of the services in the in the border area between the tribes. These would include drilling wells to provide water, which Madibo said is “the main reason for the outbreak of war and conflict” between the tribes.

In January, the Rizeigat and Misseriya clashed several times near El Meram in West Kordofan, which reportedly resulted in 11 casualties. The blood money demanded by the two tribes for losses in earlier clashes has reached billions of Sudanese pounds, the spokesman of the Rizeigat elders told Radio Dabanga at the time.

A reconciliation conference between the warring Rizeigat and Misseriya tribes has started in West Kordofan, with both sides affirming their keenness to achieve reconciliation.

The leaders of the tribes said they will be committed to the results of the forum, being held at El Salam University of Babanusa locality, under the auspices of the First Vice-President of Sudan, Bakri Hassan Saleh. They hope that this will be “the last reconciliation conference at the dawn of a peaceful coexistence between the tribes”.

During the opening session on Monday, Rizeigat chief Mahmoud Musa Madibo called on the state to implement the results on the ground, to form a strong and transparent mechanism to monitor its implementation, and to provide all of the services in the in the border area between the tribes. These would include drilling wells to provide water, which Madibo said is “the main reason for the outbreak of war and conflict” between the tribes.

In January, the Rizeigat and Misseriya clashed several times near El Meram in West Kordofan, which reportedly resulted in 11 casualties. The blood money demanded by the two tribes for losses in earlier clashes has reached billions of Sudanese pounds, the spokesman of the Rizeigat elders told Radio Dabanga at the time.