A four-day peace conference between the Dinka Malual and Misseriya communities concluded on Thursday night with the signing of the resolutions in the presence of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State officials.
Every year, the Dinka Malual of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State’s Aweil East County holds a peace conference with the Misseriya who hail from Sudan’s Western Kordufan State.
The conference resolved among other things that blood compensation be increased from 31 to 41 cows and a fine of SSP 200, 000 or equivalent in Sudanese Pounds. A person who gets injured and loses a body part shall be compensated 15 cows and the injurer fined SSP 200,000 or its equivalent in Sudanese Pounds.
The conference also resolved to ban civilians from using firearms and other military paraphernalia like uniforms, belts, boots, and caps.
The Northern Bahr el Ghazal State local government minister, Deng Liai, congratulated the communities for signing the agreement and said the people and the state government will always support such peace initiatives.
“On behalf of the government of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State and my behalf, I would like to congratulate you for your patience in completing the conference. I know it was not an easy task and I realized that when the governor assigned me to officially close the conference,” he said. “I was told by phone that there was pulling of ropes and that this conclusion was reached after great effort. The people and the government of Northern Bahr el Ghazal are for peace and all peace initiatives are always supported by us.”
Liai said the peace initiative between the Misseriya and the Dinka Malual is a community-led initiative by the border communities who want to coexist peacefully.
For his part, the Dinka Malual community leader, Peter Makuac Kuol, said the two communities lived in a brotherly fashion since the time of their forefathers.
“The Misseriya are our brothers since the time of our forefathers and they came for peace and all of us are for peace,” he said. “This peace process is not new and has been there since the time of our fathers and we are still supporting it.”
Meanwhile, the newly elected Misseriya tribal leader, Mohammed al-Hereka Osman, said he would work hard to ensure that the government of Western Kordufan State and the Sudanese Sovereign Council approve the dissemination of the agreement to the grassroots.
“We have concluded the conflict resolution conference with our brothers the Dinka Malual and this is the first conference I have ever attended since I was appointed,” he said. “I will convey this peace agreement to the government of Western Kordufan State and Sovereign Council in Sudan who will approve so that the conference resolutions are implemented.”
Osman blamed cultural differences for fomenting conflict from a long time ago and said that the two communities are one.