Governor of Darfur Survives Assassination Attempt

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Khartoum — The governor of East Darfur, Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha, has escaped an assassination attempt on Monday after gunmen affiliated with the Maalia tribe attacked him in the Adila locality, which recently witnessed a fresh wave of tribal violence.

The governor, who is a member of the rival Rizeigat tribe, had apparently been visiting the Maalia stronghold, in a bid to calm recent tribal tensions, which escalated on the weekend, resulting in the death and injury of at least 150 people.

Kasha was reportedly surrounded by the hostile group of youths armed with sticks and batons inside the locality headquarters where he was meeting with the commissioner and the security committee inside.

Bullets were fired at the building, with the police evacuating the governor and the security delegation.

Kasha was accompanied by senior military officials including the Sudanese army chief-of-staff, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Ali, and the commander of East Darfur's army division, Maj. Gen. Isam Sheriff.

Maalia elders who intervened to prevent the youth from harming the governor were themselves injured by the angry mob.

It is believed the youth wanted to avenge the killings in tribal clashes over the past few days. The Maalia accuse the East Darfur government of siding with the Rizeigat and supplying government vehicles and weapons. Both the army and police have also been accused of carrying out the killings themselves.

Reliable sources from East Darfur state told Sudan Tribune that the Maalia were angered by Kasha's statements to the media in which he denied that violent clashes in the state are tribal conflicts.

The governor is also accused of trying to mislead public opinion and the federal government by representing the Maalia-Rizeigat conflict as fighting between the Rizeigat and rebel groups.

The Maalia further accuse Kasha of seeking to antagonise the Sudanese army and the regular forces by portraying their tribe as a rebel group, and say he is committing ethnic cleansing against them.

VIOLENT CLASHES
The violence continued on Sunday when Rizeigat attacked and set fire to Maalia village Dar al-Salam, which had already been deserted by its inhabitants prior to the incident.

The Rizeigat claims that the Maalia are being supported by the Minni Minawi faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA/MM) and that its forces are fighting on the Maalia side.

It's understood the latest conflict was triggered after the killing of five Maalia men at the beginning of August allegedly by members of the Rizeigat tribe, sparking retaliatory attacks and the theft of cattle.

BANKRUPTCY OF POLICY

SUDO UK says the worsening conflict in Darfur between the two rival tribes highlights the bankruptcy of government policies in the war-torn region and the failure of the hybrid United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) as a peace-broker.

It said the tribal violence reflected deep divisions between the Sudanese government, armed groups in the area and the SLA/MM, adding that only reconciliation through normal channels after an immediate ceasefire can end the 10-year conflict.

SUDO UK has called on Rizeigat and Maalia leaders to immediately order a ceasefire to restore a period of calm and effect a temporary reconciliation.

Both the Rizeigat and the Maalia are pastoralist tribes, based in East Darfur. The centre of Rizeigat territory is in Al Da'ain town, the capital of East Darfur, while the Maalia centre is in Adila, the second largest town after Al Da'ain.

Tribal fighting usually related to land ownership has become the major source of insecurity in Darfur since the beginning of the year, forcing more than 300,000 people to flee their homes.

Various officials in Darfur including the head of the regional authority, Tijani El-Sissi, said that tribal violence is among the biggest threats to ongoing efforts to implement a peace document signed by two former rebel groups in the region.

SPLM-N CONDEMNS

SPLM-N secretary general Yasir Arman condemned the tribal clashes in East Darfur. He said in a statement he extended to Sudan Tribune that the ongoing violence "reflects the result of the policies of divide and rule of the National Congress government".

"This new plan of the National Congress is a recipe for a new genocide at the time when the ongoing genocide has not ended", he said.

Arman further called on the Sudanese and Darfurians particularly to use reunite their efforts to challenge the NCP plans, which threaten the social fabric in Darfur and the whole Sudan, and to bring down the regime. He also called for an international condemnation to Khartoum's policy in the region.

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It's my understanding that the Sudanese government (alBashir) are instigating the rebel clashes to keep the fighting going so that the ones that flee can have their land confiscated. Then it can be reassigned to someone else of their liken.

I'm not 100% sure but I think this governor of East Darfur, Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha is in alliance with alBashir. Thanks Mosaic for finding this I haven't done much today was lying down.
I have been searching for at least an hour and cannot tell if Kasha is in with alBashir or not I will be on the look for information on the relationship.

mazy wrote: It's my understanding that the Sudanese government (alBashir) are instigating the rebel clashes to keep the fighting going so that the ones that flee can have their land confiscated.

Well, that would not surprise me if Bashir was behind it. Grrr. Greed. Greed. Greed. I want mine and yours, too.

And yeah, I'm with you on Abdel Kasha --there is more to the story than is being reported, I'm sure.

Sorry that you're not feeling well, today, Mazy.

No I'm okay I don't sleep regular sometimes I stay up all night if I get involved on twitter between Darfur, George and regular political issues. Thank you.

Just got an urgent up date from Amnesty International about satellite pictures that show major devastation in Syria. I feel so bad but I don't think I can do any more than I do. These people's lives are so sad.