SUMMARY

The Al-Zayadia, an Arab community, and the Berti, a non-Arab tribe, have lived side by side in North Darfur in peace for many years and their tribal homelands, dar, boarders each other. Tensions over grazing lands and other conflicts have often been solved through the elders of the groups and different agreements between the two tribes have been signed through the years. The tensions with the Berti tribe grew over the years and in 2012 the Al-Zayadia accused the Berti of receiving weapons and other support from the former governor of North Darfur, Osman Mohamed Youssef Kibir, himself from the Berti tribe. The exchange of accusations over the death of two people in August 2012 led to a clash in the Mellit area of North Darfur between the tribes where six people died.

In 2015 conflict arose again over grazing areas and a series of cattle-rustling events took place, again in the Mellit area of North Darfur. Th Berti accused the former Janjaweed leader and political rival of governor Kibir, Musa Hilal, to support the Al-Zayadia and to instigate conflict. Both groups used heavy weapons in these clashes which led to the death of 127 tribe members.

The non-state conflict between Berti and Al-Zayadia is first included in UCDP data in 2015. In February and March of that year, clashes between the two tribes in North Darfur state had resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.