In mid June, videos circulated widely across social media showing armed groups from Al-Rashaida and Al-Bishariyin tribes in eastern Sudan. Men carrying a variety of weapons rode aboard armed combat vehicles, calling for confrontation in Ar-Ratj market area. At the same time, a statement issued in the name of Al-Bishariyin Youth Secretariat asserted the tribe’s rightful claim to the land and warned against what it described as provocations by “lawless groups.”
Amid this escalation, delegations from Sudan’s traditional native administrations intervened.
Ali Mahmoud Hassai, the head of the Amaarar, and Salah Ibrahim, head of Al-Ja’aliyin, each met with representatives of the two tribes. Their efforts resulted in a customary reconciliation agreement between the parties.
On June 20, Hamid Barki, deputy to the head of the Al-Rashaida tribe, called for a seven-day de-escalation period and urged Al-Rashaida tribesmen who had arrived from different states to return to their home areas. He appealed for restraint, warning against being drawn into strife and urging dialogue instead.
Barki stressed that Al-Rashaida and Al-Bishariyin were among the closest communities, noting that Al-Rashaida had requested a meeting with Al-Bishariyin head and were awaiting a response following consultations within the Al-Bishariyin community. He also urged the tribe’s youth to refrain from action until those discussions had concluded.
On June 17, the Red Sea State Security Committee convened an emergency meeting at the governor’s office to discuss the incidents, lawlessness, and violations reported in Ar-Ratj, located in Halaib locality. The committee instructed security forces to deploy to the area, restore order, remove illegal encroachments, apprehend offenders and initiate legal proceedings against them.
Nearly a month later, on July 16, Red Sea State governor Lieutenant General Mustafa Mohamed Nour Mahmoud announced that preparations had been completed for a comprehensive community reconciliation initiative involving the various groups of Ar-Ratj Market.
He affirmed that the state government had implemented directives issued by Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to secure the area and reassert state authority.
Map showing the location of Ar-Ratj Market.
Located in Red Sea State at Sudan’s far northeastern edge, Ar-Ratj is a well-known mining district and a bustling commercial hub frequented by miners working across Sudan’s northeastern borderlands. It lies approximately 300 kilometres northwest of Port Sudan and close to the Sudanese-Egyptian border.
The Al- Rashaida tribe migrated to eastern Sudan from the Arabian Peninsula in the mid-nineteenth century, eventually settling in the region stretching between Tokar and the Eritrean border. Some later moved westward to Barbar and Atbara, while others settled in Kassala.
Traditionally reliant on camel herding, the tribe later diversified into activities including gold mining, camel exports, and other commercial ventures.
Al- Bishariyin likewise have a long tradition of camel herding across their historical territory between Halaib and the northern and northwestern parts of Red Sea State. For generations, members of both tribes grazed their camels through the entire area extending from Halaib southward to Tokar.
At the heart of the recent tensions lies a dispute over ownership of Ar-Ratj Market.
According to sources who spoke to Atar, Al-Bishariyin native administration has been imposing unofficial local levies on miners and traders operating in and around the market.
Interviews previously conducted by Atar with mine owners and miners indicate that permits for wells and markets are issued by whichever native administration claims ownership of the land in question.
This practice persists despite Sudan’s land laws (1970, 1984, and 1994), which designate the turus al-‘ulya—wadi lands lying outside freehold ownership and beyond areas governed by customary prospecting rights as state property.
Map illustrating the distribution of tribal territories.
Source: History of the Beja in Eastern Sudan
They forced us to pay 500,000 Sudanese pounds. We couldn’t continue our journey until we contacted the owner of our mining well to transfer the money.
Mohamed Ibrahim, miner
Mohamed Ibrahim, a miner working in the area between northern Wadi Halfa and Aswan, described Ar-Ratj Market to Atar as a thriving commercial centre.
“The market is extremely active,” he said. “It has everything: from clothing shops and wholesale food stores to restaurants and cafés, as well as gold-crushing mills where I and other miners process gold-bearing rock.”
Ibrahim noted that workers in the market come from many regions of Sudan, although Al-Rashaida constitute the largest group. He also pointed to the prevalence of smuggling, facilitated by the area’s proximity to the Egyptian border, adding that large warehouses storing commercial goods are clearly visible.
Ibrahim described the recurring burden of unofficial taxation imposed on trucks transporting sacks of ore:
“Before moving to work in Aswan, I mined further north in the valley, and Al-Ansari Market, in northern Red Sea State, was the nearest place with crushing mills. There, men claiming to represent Al-Bishariyin native administration would stop us and demand money, even though we had already paid the official government fees.”
According to Ibrahim, the amounts demanded varied from case to case.
“The last time, they forced us to pay 500,000 Sudanese pounds. We couldn’t continue our journey until we contacted the owner of our mining well to transfer the money.”
“If you refuse to pay,” he continued, “you don’t just delay yourself. You hold everyone else up as well. Even the government won’t protect you from them.”
Eventually, he said, he decided to relocate his work to Aswan.
During the journey, his group passed through Ar-Ratj Market, where they remained for three hours.
“Our pickup driver, who was from Al-Rashaida tribe, told us that drivers constantly face harassment from people claiming to represent the native administration. They impose exorbitant fees on those transporting goods and passengers between Aswan and Ar-Ratj Market, sometimes amounting to millions of Sudanese pounds.”
On the way, armed men intercepted their vehicle near the market.
“The driver had to negotiate a financial settlement with them. He told us they belonged to Al-Bishariyin tribe and warned that this way of dealing with people would one day lead to a major conflict.”
These fees have existed for years and used to remain within reasonable limits. But they have increased dramatically.
An Al-Rashaida driver
Ahmed al-Hadi, another miner working in northern Sudan, told Atar:
“I work in an area called Wadi ar-Rak near Al-Ansari Market, where we take ore from the wells to be crushed. On almost every journey, Al-Bishariyin men stop us and demand payment in exchange for allowing us to pass. They have fixed their share at 15 per cent of the value of the gold produced.”
Ahmed explained that mining operations in the border region depend heavily on fuel supplied from Aswan, Egypt’s nearest city.
“Al-Rashaida dominates the fuel trade in these areas. They know the terrain and the safe routes better than anyone else and are skilled at avoiding both Sudanese and Egyptian security forces.”
During the recent tensions between Al-Rashaida and Al-Bishariyin, Ahmed said, one Rashaida driver told him that the levies imposed on transporters had become unbearable.
“These fees have existed for years and used to remain within reasonable limits,” the driver reportedly said. “But they have increased dramatically. Until recently, we paid between 150,000 and 200,000 Sudanese pounds. Now we are being asked for one million to one and a half million.”
The collection of taxes and levies should remain the exclusive responsibility of state institutions.
SAF Commander-in-Chief al-Burhan, during his visit to Ar-Ratj
On June 23, al-Burhan visited Ar-Ratj and Mashoushnaya, where he met separately with delegations from Al-Rashaida and Al-Bishariyin.
During the visit, he addressed the issue of smuggling in Ar-Ratj Market, affirmed that the collection of taxes and levies should remain the exclusive responsibility of state institutions, prohibited public displays of arms, and announced prison sentences for violators.
His visit was followed by the deployment of SAF units throughout the market and its surrounding areas.
On July 1, the governor of Red Sea State issued what was described as an Emergency Order stipulating that Ar-Ratj Market would continue operating under the supervision of local administrative authorities.
The order also mandated the removal of all illegal encroachments and activities deemed detrimental to public security. Security agencies were instructed to submit regular reports on the area’s security situation, while the order concluded by warning that anyone violating its provisions would be prosecuted under Sudan’s 1997 Emergency and Public Safety Act.
