(AFP File Photo)
Government officials said the deadly fight that broke out in the Upper Egypt governorate of Aswan that left two dead are unrelated to the tribal violence that left dozens dead in April.
The deadly clashes broke out on Thursday and have since been widely reported as a renewal of the clashes between the Arab Bani Hilal and the Nubian Daboudya tribes that left 26 dead.
However, Ministry of Interior spokesman Hany Abdel Latif, and Aswan Governor, Mostafa Yousry, said there was no connection between the most recent clashes and previous tribal violence. Yousry described the weekend clashes as “just an incident that is being contained” through communication with leaders and elders of all parties.
Abdel Latif said on Saturday that the perpetrators have been identified and the police are looking for them. State-run MENA reported that the two bodies were found charred and were marked with stab wounds. Abdel Latif said the situation is now calm.
Yousry was cited by MENA as saying that Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb is personally following up on the latest incident. The governor stressed that the state, with all its apparatuses in place, will not allow a repetition of April’s violence to occur .
Tribal violence in April took place after an incident of sexual harassment. The ensuing violence extended over days as peace talks devolved into gunfights. Police intervention had also failed to quell the tribal bloodshed.
Eventually, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, formed a reconciliation committee after conducting a dialogue session in Aswan on 12 April in the aftermath of the tribal clashes that erupted 4 April.
Yousry said the reconciliation committee is continuing its efforts to resolve the tribal violence, with full commitment from both sides to reach social peace.
