It was those clan elders who organised his release.

Guided by their sense of justice and decency, those clan elders took a first step on a very long road.

His rescue was the fruit of tireless negotiation with his captors by local clan elders.

Clan elders arrive, eager to broker a deal between their young clansmen, who use speedboats to board vessels, and shipping companies eager to pay a ransom for cargoes and staff.

He said that his life and that of other clan elders taking part in the negotiations were constantly at risk.

Last week's ceremonial demonstrated that we now look upon our prime ministers as our clan leaders as much as we do our monarchs.

However, the moves were said to have angered some local clan leaders.

Others recognized the value of digitization, and a number of clan leaders even had their crest objects digitally scanned for archival purposes at the 2012 conference.

The clan leaders have a strong interest in doing so.

The base was peacefully retaken the next day in a negotiated settlement with local clan leaders.

The judge ruled that all the clan members in the litigation should pay their own legal bills.

Caiques form long-lasting relationships, positive and negative, with other clan members.

Or at least that's what you do most of the time, using tanks and jeeps to combust rivals or enemy clan members.

He then began to carefully design an autocratic system, with heavy reliance on family and clan members, oil revenues and patronage.

Not all clan members were blood related, and division and integration of different clans was common.

Once an extended clan of thousands, they have dwindled to a stubborn few.

Now this extended clan returns for a third run with a typically entertaining double bill.

In between, you get lots of pointless subplots about the extended clan.

Look closer: families join into extended clans and social groups, which vary only slightly from week to week.

This makes them all the more precious to parents and grandparents, who doubtless recall a vanished age of extended clans in every village.

Raids are common in the area as rival clans vie for cattle, grazing and water in the world's newest nation.

The two rival clans soon clashed as the young president consolidated his grip on power.

Two cave-dwellers from rival clans fall in love and go on the run to escape the anger of their tribal leaders.

Rival clans are fighting over scarce grazing and dried-up water holes.

Skilled at spotting undercover police and members of rival clans, the lookouts exchange hand signals and yell out commands.