Al-Azhar Sponsors Committee for Compensating Aswan Tribes

Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam, Ahmed El-Tayyeb, announced on Saturday that a committee will be formed by the Islamic authority to supervise compensation for tribes in southern Egypt who have recently been involved in violence.

The decision, which was announced during a press conference in the Upper Egyptian governorate in the presence of El-Tayyeb and the Aswan governor, was based on consensus between both tribes, reported Al-Ahram Arabic news website.

Bani Helal, an Arab tribe, and the Nubian Daboudiya tribe, were involved in deadly clashes last week that left 26 people dead.

The conflict reportedly broke out when a girl from one of the tribes was harassed by students from the other family at the local school. Feuding students then wrote offensive graffiti on the school walls.

Egyptian authorities managed to persuade the two tribes to broker a one-month truce, with the stipulation that any breach in the pact would lead to military and police intervention.

Source: Ahram Online