Joint inquiry to be made with Sudan over border clashes

The governments of the Central African Republic (CAR) and neighbouring Sudan have agreed to establish a commission of inquiry into the killing on 18 May of about 100 Sudanese cattle herders in the region of Gordil and Birao in the northern savannah of Vakaga Province of the CAR.

A joint communiqué issued on 28 May stated that the commission would undertake a mission to determine the cause of the conflict; the exact number of people killed, and to bring to justice those responsible. It would also attempt to retrieve herds of cattle that had fled during the hostilities. The statement noted the excellent relations between the two countries and commended their border authorities for quickly restoring calm among the population.

The communiqué follows high-level meetings held on Monday and Tuesday in the CAR capital, Bangui, during which a Sudanese delegation of regional governors and tribal chiefs led by President Umar Hasan al-Bashir's adviser on security and minister of internal affairs, Maj-Gen Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Husayn, and the secretary of state in the Ministry of External Relations, Fudayl al-Tijani, met CAR government officials.
Sudanile website in Khartoum reported that the Bani Halbah, Ta'ishah and Al-Falatah Al-Wisdaniyyah ethnic groups spent eight months per year in CAR. They have longstanding ties and intermarriage with a number of ethnic groups in CAR.

A similar meeting to improve border security was held earlier in May between a CAR government delegation and representatives of the Chadian government in the Chadian capital, Ndjamena.

Hostilities in the region have been attributed to longstanding conflict between agriculturalists and pastoralists, aggravated by an influx of arms. In some cases entire villages have been burned.