SUMMARY
The clashes between the Masalit and Reizegat Abbala are one of many conflicts originating due to the diminishing land and water resources of Darfur. Disputes between tribes of nomadic camel and cattle herders and farmers have been taking place in Darfur since the reign of the Fur sultanate (c. 1650-1916). Back then, the British sought to control Darfur through "Native Administrations" of tribal leaders and gave nazirs, chiefs, clear demarcated authority over ethnic groups, and over the civil affairs within their territory. Most groups were given a combination of a dar (tribal homeland) and access to pastures on a pre-ordained annual calendar. However, some of the nomadic groups were not given land and this spawned a cycle of tribal conflicts and economic grievances as these groups relied on customary rights to graze and water their animals in regions dominated by farmers.
Initially this was not so problematic until desertification began spreading south and farms expanded, reducing the amount of pasture available and thus making farmers less willing to provide grazing rights to the nomadic groups. Almost concurrent with this, a wave of Arab supremacism turned neighbors into enemies as the government began arming the Arab militias due to conflicts with Chad and South Sudan. These factors combined created situations where minor tensions and disputes between groups, previously managed by tribal mediation, spiraled into waves of violence with large numbers of casualties.
The conflict between the Masalit and Reizegat Abbala is a typical example of other similar non-state conflicts between tribes in Darfur because of the diminishing land resources. A main cause of the conflict was thus an aggressive assertion of land claims by the Reizegat Abbala. Although these were not uncommon, what was most disturbing to the Masalit in this situation was how the Khartoum government seemed to endorse the Reizegat Abbala claim under new Arabic nazirs (chiefs). These directly challenged the Masalit Sultan and his traditional claim of the land.
In 1995 the government introduced a new system of native administration in Darfur. This system entailed that new “emirate” posts were created for the Arabic nomads and were imposed without consulting the original holders of the previous, long-established system. The Arab groups in Dar Masalit that had previously been subordinate to the Masalit sultan were now given increased prominence as the Masalit's homeland was divided into thirteen emirates, five going to Arab groups such as the Reizegat Abbala and eight to the Masalit. The new Arab emirs began a process of evicting Masalit from their new emirates, making them a minority in their own homeland. The Masalit reacted first peacefully, but eventually resorted to responding with force.
This conflict was also different from previous ones in that there was a very high degree of violence, killings, rape, stripping of assets, and systematic destruction of agricultural resources. The fighting between the two tribes was mainly located in and around the town of Geneina, the capital of Western Darfur.
The Reizegat Abbalas initiated the majority of the incidents and a typical tactic for them was to encircle a village, often at night, set fire to the buildings and subsequently gun down the Masalit as they came out. Between 50 000 and 140 000 people, mostly Masalit, were estimated to have been displaced due to the widespread, and often complete, destruction of hundreds of villages in the fighting. Most of these refugees were concentrated in camps around Geneina and across the border in Chad.
In December 1998, the Sudanese President declared a state of emergency in Darfur in response to the armed robbery and many tribal conflicts over scarce grazing land and water. This measure temporarily removed the pro-Masalit state governor from power.
Although a peace accord was reached between the tribes in 1999 after a government-sponsored reconciliation meeting, thousands of Masalit refuges refused to return to their homes from Chad due to fear over the still present low-level violence. Even though the accord ended the immediate fighting, the conflict between the Masalit and Reizegat Abbala was one of the major factors leading up to the Masalit eventually joining forces with the other non-Arab tribes of the Fur and Zaghawa in opposing the government in armed and open revolt in 2003 through the founding of the SLM/A (Sudan Liberation Movement/Army).
The non-state conflict between the Masalit and Reizegat Abbala is first included in UCDP data in 1998. In February and March of that year, the two sides clashed in and around the town of Geneina, resulting in at least 100 battle-related deaths.
