When Sudan's president landed in this remote western Darfur town, he was warmly greeted by a man who by all logic should be his mortal enemy _ a tribal chief the Sudanese leader is charged with trying to exterminate.

The sultan of the Masalit tribe, Saad Abdel-Rahman Bahr-Eddin, wearing an elaborate golden robe and large white head wrap, approached President Omar al-Bashir and raised his hands in the air in a common Sudanese gesture of welcome.

Al-Bashir was met with similar warmth by the sultans of the Fur and Zaghawa tribes on subsequent stops last month on his tour of Darfur, which came days after he was indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide against their peoples.

The closeness of the traditional tribal leaders to al-Bashir illustrates the complexity of the Darfur conflict, often seen as simply a violent clash between the Arab-led Khartoum government and ethnic African Darfur tribes like Bahr-Eddin's. Now, Al-Bashir is eager for support from the tribal leaders, hoping that by showing a willingness for peace in Darfur, he can stall ICC prosecution.

African tribal leaders walk a fine line in the conflict, courted by the government and branded by armed rebels from their own tribes who are fighting Khartoum as sellouts seeking only to keep their titles. But analysts say their status means they could play a key role in any future peace negotiations as representatives of the Darfur people.

Bahr-Eddin insists he's acting in his people's interests. "It is better to deal with the government than make it your enemy," he told The Associated Press after the ceremonies last month. "You protect people's rights and can realize some benefits."

"Sometimes the government calls me a rebel and sometimes the rebels say I am with the government," he said.

But keeping close to the president has cost Bahr-Eddin much support among his Masalit people, hundreds of thousands of whom have fled into neighboring Chad to escape the violence, said Fouad Hikmat, a Sudan expert with the International Crisis Group, speaking Monday.

Many lower-level chiefs in the tribal hierarchy have backed the rebels, and Bahr-Eddin's own brother has stood up to challenge his authority.

But at the same time, Darfur rebels are chronically divided, splintering into as many as 30 factions and unable to come together on peace talks that European and U.N. mediators have been trying for months to organize. With no unified rebel leadership for Darfurians, the traditional authority of tribal sultans like Bahr-Eddin is increasingly becoming more attractive.

"The more the rebels failed their people, the more the tribal leaders will assert their authority," said Julie Flint, co-author of a book on the Darfur conflict.

Darfur rebels rose up against Khartoum in 2003, complaining of central government discrimination against them in favor of Darfur's Arab tribes. The rebels were led by younger tribesmen, angry at their traditional leaders' closeness to the central government.

Khartoum replied with a military crackdown, while the pro-government Arab janjaweed militiamen waged a campaign of atrocities against ethnic African civilians, killing and raping them and driving them from their villages. Up to 300,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million have lost their homes.

Bahr-Eddin, 46, and the other paramount tribal chiefs have a mix of interests in supporting al-Bashir, not just in protecting whatever Darfurians they can, experts say. They also want to preserve their own hereditary titles and authority.

In recent years, Khartoum has sought to co-opt tribal leaders, appointing them to local councils and paying their salaries. The government appointed Bahr-Eddin three years ago to Darfur's local parliament, which he now heads.

During his Darfur tour, al-Bashir promised to listen to tribal leaders' demands and give more local authority, development projects, and a prominent seat for them at future peace talks. Bahr-Eddin and other top tribal leaders, in turn, denounced the ICC indictment.

But in a sign of the divisions, many prominent lower-level tribal chiefs and rebel supporters refused to attend the government-orchestrated rallies for al-Bashir. Some issued a statement denouncing the events and calling those who attended as "traders in our blood."

Khartoum's moves against the Masalit began even earlier than the current conflict. In the late 1990s, the government divided up the traditional lands of the Masalit Sultanate, located in the western part of Darfur near the Chadian border, giving parts of it to Darfur Arabs. It then took similar steps against the Fur and Zaghawa, Darfur's other two main tribes.

Still, Hikmat said, Sultan Bahr-Eddin's embrace of Khartoum _ he's even a member of al-Bashir's ruling party _ prevented the blow from being even worse and ensuring that the traditional rule of the Masalit remained intact.

"He managed to protect his people to an extent, not 100 percent," Hikmat said. "Instead of totally dismantling (his sultanate), he put his head with the (ruling) National Congress Party."