KASSALA TRIBAL CONFLICT MUST BE RESOLVED PEACEFULLY

What happened in Kassala state and particularly in its capital is an organized crime and serious development must not pass without accountability. The violence which took place between the tribe of Hadandawa and Beni ‘Aamir reveals that the security situation in many parts of eastern state is fragile. Hence, the government should maintain safety and social peace among all the citizens of the state regardless of any tribal considerations. The root causes of the problem is that some social components of the city reject nomination of Salih Ammar as governor of Kassala state. This appointment has caused sharp division which later on led to tribal conflict between the two major tribes: the Hadandawa and Beni Amir (the tribe of the new governor ).
Since the beginning of the crisis the chieftain of Hadandawa Mohamed Alamin Trik has announced his rejection to nomination of eastern state governor in general and governor of Kassala in particular. I think the crisis needs transparent solution that address the roots of the problems and bring all criminals to the court. Law is to be supreme over all and should be implemented without mercy or exception. The next step security intelligence personnel must look for those who are the beneficiary of such chaos during crisis be they they groups or individuals – who are pursuing their own interests regardless of the repercussions and implications. The old solutions used by the ousted regime are no longer useful because paying blood money as compensations will fuel the situation and encourage more conflicts, not only in eastern Sudan but in other parts of the country. The geographic and demographic situation has further complicated the security solutions adopted by Al-Bashir regime which have deteriorated the stability in many states as the government used to intervene supporting specific groups against the other as it was the case in Darfur and South Kordufan the other two areas that witnessed bloody tribal clashes. The current transitional government should listen to all voices in Kasssala and elsewhere. I think that building confidence starts with thevstepping down of the named governor (has already been relieved) to preserve the lives of his people. I am very sure the solution is very difficult after too much of blood shedding but doubtless the wisdom will overcome the sprit of revenge. The government needs to send more troops to control the fragile situation and to separate between the two warring sides . Above all reconciliation conference is to be held very soon . This conference if well-managed would pave the way to peaceful co-existence – an approach that could be generalized to all other inflammatory areas in Sudan to avoid any potential tenstions in other parts of the country.