Calm Returns to South Darfur after Bloody Week

Calmness returned today to the Gereida area in South Darfur, western Sudan, after observing a bloody week after tribal clashes.

Violence renewed in the town of Gereida, in South Darfur, as a result of fighting between the Masalit and Fallata tribes, and the Rizeigat and Fallata tribes on the other hand, which left dozens dead and wounded.

The Governor of South Darfur State, Musa Mahdi, confirmed the stability of the security situation thanks to the deployment of military forces that imposed the law and dealt decisively with the insurrections.

In a press statement, Mahdi said that the investigation committee that was recently formed started to conduct some investigations, warning of any gatherings in the southern localities that witnessed the recent events.

The governor of South Darfur referred to strict legal measures to reduce the recurrence of tribal conflicts.

He called on civilians in the southern localities to cooperate with the military forces deployed in the area with information on the escapees, in addition to implementing security directives in order to preserve the safety of civilians.

The town of Gereida, which lies about 85 km south of the city of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur State, witnessed tribal violence that left dozens dead and hundreds injured due to the conflict over land, theft and looting of livestock.

The renewed tribal conflicts, at the time when the mandate of the United Nations Joint Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) ended, which made the challenge a great one for the Sudanese government to protect civilians.

UNAMID announced its withdrawal from Darfur as of December 31, in implementation of the UN Security Council resolution that ended the mandate of the mission after remaining 13 years in the region.