TheBeni Halba (Arabic:بني هلبا) is anArab group located in the westernSudanese region ofDarfur. The Beni Halba is one of the major DarfuriBaggara groups, along with theHabbaniya,Rizeigat andTa’isha, and was granted a largehakura (land grant) in southern Darfur by thesultans of independent Dar Fur.[1] During the 1980s, recurringdrought inChad prompted several clans of Beni Halba to migrate eastwards and join their kinspeople betweenGeneina andKebkabiya andKutum.[2] In the late 1980s, the ideology then sweeping through the region combiningArab supremacy andIslamic extremism was taken up by many Beni Halba. UnderNazir al-HadiIssa Debaker, the Beni Halba were actively involved in attacks upon theFur people starting in 1987 through 1989. In this period a new militia called theJanjaweed, partially drawing upon the Beni Halba, was first formed.[3] In 1991 theSudan People's Liberation Army, then fighting theSecond Sudanese Civil War in the south of the country, sent a force underDaud Bolad to expand the conflict into Darfur. However, Bolad's force was annihilated by a combination of the army and Beni Halbafursan ("horsemen"), who then carried out reprisal attacks against Fur civilians.[4] As a result, the Beni Halba district town of Idd al Ghanam ("Well of Goats") was renamed Idd al Fursan ("Well of Horseman").[5]
The tribe has a major existence in both Sudan and Tchad. Within the tribe, Bani Helba includes over 10 major clans. The Main Clans are Dar Nimir, Wolad Gumaan, Zanateet, Wolad Ghanim, Ghieth, Wolad Ali, Hathalil, Bani Monzoor, Isharia, Mosawiyaih, Bani Labid, Wolad Furkha, Hazazra, Gimailat, Mistinan and Alwanaih
As theDarfur conflict erupted in the beginning of the 2000s, the Sudanese government attempted to convince al-Hadi Issa Debaker to merge his Beni Halba with the Janjaweed. Debaker refused, stating that he would defend himself if attacked on Beni Halba land.[6] Regardless, members of the Beni Halba and other Baggara groups continue to be recruited into the Janjaweed.[7]
