Tribesmen intervene to end al-Jawf battle [Archives:2005/869/Front Page]

Hassan Al-Zaidi
AL-JAWF- Tribal sources told the Yemen Times this week that a number of sheikhs, among them Ghalib al-Ajda'a, Ali Saleh al-Shatif and others, have intervened to settle a bloody fighting between al-Shawlan and Hamdan tribes in al-Jawf, Yemen. Disputes and battles between these tribes date back to 1980 and claimed lives of 56 people.

The sources mentioned the death toll was increasing due to insistence of both parties on taking revenge upon each other.

According to the sources, authorities are still holding 14 tribesmen from al-Shawlan Tribe as hostages at the Ministry of Defense, including Sheikh Amin al-Ukaimi, MP, and five others from Hamdan Tribe.

The skirmishes between the two parties escalated over a 12-km square land, and tribesmen are always armed and in a state of alert to any incident.

The tribal sources expect the situation to deteriorate at any time since there are not any pledges for reconciliation. On his part, President Ali Abdullah Saleh pledged to settle those disputes over lands, which have so far claimed lives of many people.

Tribal wars and acts of vengeance raise concern among tribesmen and cause insurmountable barriers, posing challenge and hampering development in such areas. Over the last few months, revenge incidents claimed lives of educated people and innocent students in main cities.

It is worth noting that the death toll caused by tribal revenges in al-Jawf rose to 5000 over the last two decades.
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