Rizeigat tribe

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Rizeigat الرزيقات
Rizeigat warrior
Ethnicity	Chadian or Darfuri
Location	Darfur (Sudan) or Republic of Chad
Population	400,000
Branches	Mahamid Mahariya Nawaiba Irayqat (Northern Rizeigat) Atayfat (Northern Rizeigat)
Language	Sudanese Arabic or Chadian Arabic
Religion	Sunni Islam

The Rizeigat, or Rizigat, or Rezeigat (Standard Arabic: Rizayqat) are a Muslim and an Arab tribe of the nomadic Baggara (Standard Arabic Baqqara) people in Sudan's Darfur region and/or Chad region. The Rizeigat belong to the greater Baggara Arabs (Chadian Arabs) fraternity of Darfur, Kordofan and Chad, and speak Sudanese Arabic or Chadian Arabic. They are primarily nomadic herders and their journeys are dependent upon the seasons of the year. They are a branch of the Juhayna group. They are divided into the Abbala (camel-herding) Rizeigat, who live in northern Darfur and Chad, and the Baggara who inhabit south-east Darfur. In turn they are divided into several large clans, notably the Mahamid, Mahariya and Nawaiba. The ecological differences between the north and south of Sudan allowed for two different types of nomadism to evolve: camel herders in the north and cattle herders in the south. They are a substantial part of the Janjaweed turned Rapid Support Forces.

The Baggara Rizeigat backed the Sudanese government during the conflict with the SPLA. They formed the Murahileen, mounted raiders that attacked southern villages to loot valuables and slaves.^[1] During the Second Sudanese Civil War thousands of Dinka women and children were abducted and subsequently enslaved by members of the Messiria and Rizeigat tribes. An unknown number of children from the Nuba tribe were similarly abducted and enslaved.^[2]

In the Darfur conflict the Abbala Rizeigat were instrumental to the Sudanese government's counterinsurgency campaign and gained notoriety as part of the Janjaweed militia.^[3] Musa Hilal of the Mahamid, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo aka Hemedti of the Mahariya are the two most prominent leaders.