Minnawi belongs to the Zaghawa ethnic group, the Ila Digen (or Awlad Digayn) clan of the non-Arab, Saharan Zaghawa people.
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On September 14, 2006, in defiance of Khartoum's opposition, Minnawi supported the new UN peacekeeping force detailed in UNSC Resolution 1706, which was designed to protect the Sudanese people.