Internal political situation in Muscat and Oman p.134

FO 371/126881 1957
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DENI BATTASII

They have always been a't eximity with the Beni. Wahaib,
Their attitude to the Sultan is firendly and they support him
though formerly in rebéilion against the Sultanate. Their
Tamariah 3s Mohammad bin Ilarith residing at liuyaul at a n abouti
14fty five, IIe sent a force to support the Sultan in 1952
against Sav.di accression on Buraini..

The Duru is a wild and wandering tribe of bedouins,
though small sections have settled in Dhahirah and Datinah
Gastricts, at Tana' an (their capital) and Barka, They collect
rostly about Jeba. Ilarrah, and range from Dhahirah to Sharqiyah
plying canels for hire for the carriage of dried dates, They
are poor, treacherois and warlike, and are at feud with the
Yal Wahibah Thei. Yarrinah is really Mohammed bin Said, aged
about sixty but he is now old and Shaikh Ali bin Jilal, who
lives at Tana? an has taken his place. Their territory is of
interest for its oil bearing potential. In August 1954 the
chief Shaikhs wrote a letter to the Sultan owning allegiance
and inviting him b bring Petroleum Development Oil Co Ltd
to their territory.

The Beri Chafir is in two main divisions. One
division lives in the Wadi Beni Ghafir near Rostag, which town
they covet, and have more than once been encouraged to invest
in order to assist the Sultan in gaining control of that area,

The people are mostly date cultivators, but some wno
are engaged in trade with India, Zanzibar and Africa are possessed
of considerable means,

The second division lives around Driz in the Dhahirah
district. It numbers fifteen hundred.. Their Shaikh is Ali bin
Said, woon the Sultan has known and trusted for many years, though
others pronounce hin unreliable. Iis fort at Ainain nearby
controls the water supply and gives hin a hold over his neighbours,
especially the Baluch in Aragt, which makes hin unpopular,
The tribe supplied a force for the intended march to Buraini in
92

The vibe gives its name to the Ghafiri political faction to

which