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Brief History of the Crisis in Darfur
The present Darfur conflict erupted in early 2003 when Justice and Equality Movement and Sudan Liberation Army/Movement rebels attacked and captured the capital in central Darfur. They demanded inclusion in new power-sharing arrangements between the North and the South of Sudan.
Rebellion in Darfur alarmed the Sudanese authorities, posing a threat to the continued viability of the country as a whole. Authorities feared that similarly neglected regions in the east, taking their cues from Darfur, would demand large degrees of autonomy, if not the right to independence. Khartoum became decidedly committed to achieving a military solution to the crisis.
The government's response was to mount a campaign of aerial bombardment supporting ground attacks by an Arab militia, the Janjaweed, recruited from local tribes and armed by the government. The Janjaweed are killing civilians, razing and burning villages, raping women and young girls, abducting children, poisoning water supplies, and destroying sources of food.
The conflict has economic, political and ethnic dimensions. Its economic roots lie in the competition between pastoralists (generally Arab Africans) and agriculturists (generally non-Arab Africans) over resources, such as land and water. Political marginalization has also contributed to the conflict. Finally, it has acquired an ethnic component in which civilians are deliberately being targeted on the basis of their ethnicity.
The United States Congress has labeled the crisis in Darfur genocide. While precious time is wasted with inaction, the Sudanese government's terror campaign continues to kill innocent people.
Facts:**The death toll has reached up to 400,000 people since February 2003
**More than 500 people die each day, 15,000 each month
**More than 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes
**More than 200,000 have fled to refugee camps in neighboring Chad
**As many as 1 million civilians could die in Darfur from lack of food and from disease within coming months
**80% of the children under five years old are suffering from severe malnutrition and many are dying each day
**Humanitarian aid organizations have access to only 20% of those affected
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