KHARTOUM, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's Defence Ministry on Monday announced the arrest of Sheikh Musa Hilal, an important tribal leader in Sudan's Darfur region.
"Leader of the Awakening Revolutionary Council (ARC) Musa Hilal and his son Habeeb have been arrested," Sudan's State Minister for Defense Ali Mohamed Salem told reporters.
"They will be transported to El Fasher, capital of North Darfur State and from there to the capital Khartoum," he added.
Salem further stressed on the stability of the security situations at Mistariha, home area of Hilal.
On Sunday, armed clashes took place at Mistariha area in North Darfur State between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), an affiliate of the Sudanese army, and the ARC fighters.
Hilal has strongly opposed the recent government campaign for the collection of arms in Darfur despite the fact that he was an ally of the government until very recently.
Hilal refused to surrender ARC's weapons to the government and opposed the assignment of the arms collection to the rapid support forces.
The government insisted on collecting the arms from all militias and tribes in Darfur so that the weapons would be in the hands of the regular forces only.
Hilal has allied with the Khartoum government to fight rebels in the region since the outbreak of war in 2003.
The West and human rights organization Human Rights Watch blamed Hilal for forming the Janjaweed militias which are accused of committing war crimes in Darfur.
The UN Security Council decided in 2006 to impose sanctions on Musa Hilal and three others, including travel ban and freeze of funds.
