Violence in Port Sudan .. Who fuels tribal conflict?

Ahmed Fadl-Khartoum

For the third time in five months, Sudan's eastern port city of Port Sudan has become a ghost town by imposing a curfew on the backdrop of violence, the latest of which was Monday's clashes between the Bani Amer ethnic group and other Beja nationalities, amid accusations by regional hubs of igniting tribal strife in the city.

The bloody events between Bani Amer and Nuba in June and August may appear to have ethnic backgrounds, which lax authorities have contributed to their deaths, observers say.

But the current clashes between al-Bunni Amer on the one hand and al-Amar and al-Hindawah on the other are increasing the assumptions of the foreign conspiracy, and the race to impose influence between the military and civilians in the transitional government, politicians say to the island Net.

After a ceremony to welcome Amin Daoud, vice-chairman of the Revolutionary Front, clans of the Amar tribe clashed with the receptors, resulting in deaths and injuries on both sides, despite the large deployment of army, police and rapid support forces, which failed to repel the crowds.

Daoud, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation and Justice of Eastern Sudan, a member of the Bani Amer tribe, returned to the country after a goodwill agreement between the MILF and the transitional government that took power after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir.

Interior Minister, Minister of Interior and Infrastructure Hassan Hassan Sheikh Idriss and representatives of the Freedom and Change Forces arrived in Port Sudan on Tuesday evening.

External dimension
Sayed Ali Abu Amna, another faction leader of the United Popular Front for the Liberation and Justice in Eastern Sudan, argues that there is an external dimension among several reasons behind tribal violence.

He points to the movement of the Gulf parties to control the ports of the Red Sea from countries that had interests in the ports of Sudan before the revolution and "which confirms that the regime (President) isolated still exists in the folds of the current government."

Abu Amna says to Al Jazeera Net that the revolution, if true, should stand before any Gulf ambitions on the coasts of Sudan on the Red Sea of ​​geopolitical importance.

He justifies the relationship between the tribal conflict in Port Sudan and the Gulf ambitions in the Red Sea with a plan that seeks to impose military control as an antidote to the breakdown of the security contract once civilian governors are appointed and the ruling coalition seeks "forces of proclaiming freedom and change."

The revolution, which toppled Bashir's regime, blocked a deal with a Dubai-based Philippine company to manage and operate the southern port of containers, Sudan's most important and largest port for 20 years.

Tribal sedition
In contrast, Secretary Daoud ruled out the existence of external ambitions in the ports of Sudan, which could be the cause of tribal fighting in the Red Sea state.

Daoud, who took place Monday after a festival to receive him in Port Sudan, the island Net - that the causes of sedition borne by the Beja nationalities in the East, which must be coherent and recognize the other.

The man rejects accusations by the military governor of the state that he was responsible for the events, saying that the inaction of the state security committee is what led to the loss of property and lives that rose to six dead.

Daoud, the deputy head of the Revolutionary Front, which includes the alliance of armed movements in Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile and eastern Sudan, has been asked by the military governor of the Red Sea state to postpone the reception but the latter insisted on it.

It was noteworthy the public receptions received by Secretary Daoud and accepted by Suleiman Ali Betai on his return from the UAE in the city of Kassala, south of Port Sudan.

Criticize the Allies
Addressing crowds in Kassala this month, Betay and Daoud have harshly criticized the forces of freedom and change, although the latter is an ally of the alliance through the NRF, one of the main components of the forces of change.

The relationship between the UAE and the components of Sudan's call, such as the National Umma Party and the armed movements of the Revolutionary Front, especially the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Minawi and the SPLM-North led by Malik Aqar, was strengthened by the visit of their leaders to Abu Dhabi.

Beja Congress leader Ali Munib does not rule out an external dimension in the tribal violence in Port Sudan on the one hand that Sudan has enemies like his friends.

Mounib points out to Al Jazeera Net the strategic importance of the Red Sea as well as that Port Sudan is the second city after Khartoum, adding, "Given the importance of the Red Sea state's security and political can contribute to external destabilization."

Eritrean role
"We love Eritrea and its neighbors and we want the fabric in eastern Sudan and Eritrea to be one," said Daoud.

Daoud and Betay enjoy a close relationship with Eritrea, and one of the leaders in a meeting with Secretary Daoud was the need to prove their right to Eritrean identity and enjoy Sudanese passports at the same time.

Abu Amna accuses groups claiming to belong to the Bunni Amer tribe, which was part of the Eritrean opposition forces and granted the former regime Sudanese nationality, to respond to the service of foreign agendas in return for strengthening its presence in the east.

He points to a central factor in Sudan among the causes of the tribal conflict in the east by responding or in line with an external factor, while accusing the deep state, which still controls the organs in the states and localities, demanding their urgent dismantling.

Abdullah Musa, a leader of the Beja conference (the entity of freedom and change) warns all parties against the inclusion of tribal signs in the political conflict, because the inclusion of tribal components would provoke sedition.