SUMMARY

The Beni Hussein and the Rizeigat Abbala are two Arab communities living in North Darfur. Traditionally these two groups have peaceful relations. However, the two communities fought each other fiercely in 2013. The conflict centered on control over a gold mine located in North Darfur. The area where the gold mine is located is traditionally under the control of the Beni Hussein community. In order to benefit more from the revenues from the gold mine the Rizeigat Abbala tried to take control over that area. Tension and clashes regarding cattle raids have followed since then.

The non-state conflict between the Beni Hussein and the Rizeigat Abbala was first included in UCDP data in 2013. In early January of that year, clashes between the two groups had resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.