Browse this page to find out background information on the Darfur region of western Sudan in Africa, what is currently going on, how you can get more information, and what you can do to help stop the GENOCIDE!
Background Information
A Background to the Conflict in Darfur, Sudan
Over 70,000 people are estimated to have died in Darfur, western Sudan since the conflict erupted in February 2003. More than 1.5 million people have been driven from their homes and 200,000 have sought refuge in neighboring Chad. Another 800,000 people are said to be beyond the reach of humanitarian agencies.
Framing the Darfur Conflict: Sudans Civil War
Since its independence from Britain in 1956, Sudan has been embroiled in a vicious civil war in which the central government in the North has been fighting rebels from the South over political autonomy and economic power. With the imposition of Sharia law in 1983, and the establishment of the military government in 1989, the conflict took on religious and ethnic dimensions, as the government set out to reshape social institutions in line with its interpretation of Islam. Since then, the war has claimed more than 2 million lives and has also displaced over 4 million people, 20% of the total worldwide. Over the last year, the warring parties the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) have participated in peace talks aimed at ending the war, which finally concluded in the signing of a power-sharing agreement on May 26, 2004. Just as peace is at hand for one part of the country, the same human rights abuses that characterized the larger conflict have erupted and plunged the people of Darfur into a nightmare that has been largely overlooked by policy makers anxious for a peace agreement.
History of the Conflict in Darfur
The largest region in Sudan, Darfur is home to some 36 ethnic tribes, composed of two major blocks Arabs and non-Arabs the latter known as blacks. The Fur and the Masalit ethnic groups, who dominate the African population in Darfur, have a long history of clashes over land with Arab camel- and cattle-herding tribes. Initially, such hostilities were monitored through negotiation between community leaders. In the 1970s, however, competition over fertile land and dwindling resources intensified dramatically due to the desertification of the region and the lack of good governance. Traditional conflict resolution mechanisms were soon replaced with bloody and politicized clashes and ethnicity soon became a major mobilizing factor.
Rivals began identifying themselves as Arabs and non-Arabs for the first time during the 1987-1989 Fur-Arab conflict, when nomads of Arab origin and Fur clashed over grazing lands and water resources. During this time, some 27 Arab tribes grouped themselves under the previously unknown Arab Gathering. Reports at that time already refer to the nomad militia Janjawid (armed men on horses), which was known for attacking Fur as well as other non-Arab tribes. An estimated 2,500 Fur lost their lives and 400 villages were burned, causing tens of thousands to flee their land in search for safety.
A 1994 administrative reorganization by the government of President Omar El Bashir equipped members of the Arab tribes with new power, and was perceived by the African Masalit, Fur and Zaghawa as an attempt to debilitate their traditional leadership role and authority in the region. The decision lead to the resurgence of fighting, culminating in the 1996-1998 Masalit-Arab conflict, where the torching of Masalit villages instigated the flow of 100, 000 refugees into Chad. The fighting received little international attention.
Recent Developments
In February 2003, a new armed opposition group called the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) emerged in Darfur and began attacking government troops. The SLM/A declared that attacks were in protest of the failure of the government to protect villagers from attacks by nomadic groups and the economic marginalization of the region. Another armed opposition group called the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) soon emerged with demands similar to the SLM/As. The government chose to resolve the conflict by using force in March 2003. Since then, the fighting has continued.
Comprising the majority of casualties, civilians are at the heart of the Darfur war. Human rights violations have been perpetuated by the Sudanese governments blatant policy of indiscriminate bombing and other aerial attacks against clearly civilian targets and its failure to hold its own soldiers and government-supported militias accountable. Members of the governments proxy militia, the Janjawid, have been responsible for killing, torture, arbitrary arrest, detention, the torching of homes and entire villages, and the theft and deliberate destruction of crops and cattle.
On April 8, 2004, the government of Sudan and the armed political groups - the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) - signed a ceasefire agreement, under which both sides agreed to refrain from military action and to ensure access to humanitarian assistance. The agreement was due to run for 45 days and was subsequently extended on May 24. The ceasefire, however, has been largely disregarded. Within Darfur, observers suggest that almost every village in the conflict region has now been burnt and depopulated. In much of Darfur, the Janjawid are now occupying the rural areas; they have set up bases in some of the burnt-out villages, are harassing internally displaced people (IDPs) on the edges of towns, and have raped women who venture out to collect water outside the camps. The deteriorating humanitarian situation in Darfur is being compounded by the administrative delays imposed by the Sudanese authorities on international humanitarian organizations and the ensuing logistic difficulties caused by the rainy season.
On July 7th 2004, the United Nations Security Council adoptedResolution 1556, requesting that the Sudanese Government file a report on any progress made in Darfur in 30 days and on a monthly basis thereafter. The resolution specifically required the government to disarm the Janjawid and apprehend and bring to justice the perpetrators responsible for committing the recurrent atrocities. It further dictated that the Sudanese government facilitate all humanitarian efforts to help resolve the crisis, pursue an independent inquiry on human rights violations, ascertain a credible report on any safety measures that need to be taken, and recommence political discussions with dissenter groups from Darfur, expressly the JEM and the SLM/A.
What is Happening in Darfur?
In the Darfur region of western Sudan, a genocide is occurring. Each day, civilians face prospects of mass killings, torture, rape, destruction of villages, theft and other human rights abuses at the hands of the Janjaweed militias - bands of fighters backed by the Sudanese Government.
Since the start of the conflict in Darfur in February 2003:
- Nearly 3 million people have been affected by the crisis.
- More than 300,000 people have died from conflict and diseases.
- 2.5 million civilians have been internally displaced by the conflict.
- 200,000 Darfurians have sought refuge in neighboring Chad.
On September 9, 2004, Secretary of State Colin Powell first used the word "genocide" to describe the crisis. This very public condemnation of the conflict took place during Powell's testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was seen as groundbreaking. The 1951 Genocide Convention requires that nations "prevent and punish" genocide when they see it occurring. Most importantly, the term is highly symbolic - the word genocide has historically been used only as a description of mass killing in the world's worst humanitarian crises, like those in Nazi Germany, Rwanda, and Yugoslavia.
Despite this declaration, very little has changed for the people of Darfur. As many as 6,000 people continue to die every month.
Current Situation(continued)
Nearly three years into the crisis, the western Sudanese region of Darfur is acknowledged to be a humanitarian and human rights tragedy of the first order. The humanitarian, security and political situation continue to deteriorate: atrocities continue, people are still dying in large numbers of malnutrition and disease, and a new famine is feared. According to reports by the World Food Program, the United Nations and the Coalition for International Justice, 3.5 million people are now hungry, 2.5 million have been displaced due to violence, and 400,000 people have died in Darfur thus far. The international community is failing to protect civilians or to influence the Sudanese government to do so.
The international community is deeply divided -- perhaps paralyzed -- over what to do next in Darfur. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Darfur described the massive scope of atrocities carried out in the territory, primarily by the government and its allied Janjaweed militias. And the situation on the ground shows a number of negative trends, which have been developing since the last quarter of 2004: deteriorating security; a credible threat of famine; mounting civilian casualties; the ceasefire in shambles; increasing tensions between Sudan and Chad; and new armed movements appearing in Darfur and neighboring states. Chaos and a culture of impunity are taking root in the region.
The humanitarian situation remains catastrophic, due to ongoing state-sponsored violence, layers of aid obstruction, the lack of an overall humanitarian strategic plan, and the weakened state of displaced Sudanese. Refugees and internally displaced civilians (IDPs) have been displaced for long periods, they are in terribly weakened states, they are subject to sexual abuse and attack, they do not have adequate shelter, and a new famine is feared. Infectious diseases and dysentery will drive up the body counts rapidly. Conventional responses are simply inadequate to prevent increasing mortality rates, and the current response will fail unless buttressed by a number of bold and urgent actions.
Rape has become a hallmark of the crimes against humanity in Darfur. It has proven one way for the Janjaweed militias to continue attacking Darfurians after driving them from their homes. Families must continue collecting wood, fetching water or working their fields, and in doing so, women daily put themselves or their children at the risk of rape, beatings or death as soon as they are outside the camps, towns or villages. It is assumed that the hundreds of rapes reported and treated grossly underestimate the actual number committed, as victims of rape in Darfur are often too scared or too ashamed to seek help. In a culture where rape draws heavy social disgrace, victims are often ostracised by their own families and communities. These women and children have been forced from their communities and even punished for illegal pregnancy as a result of being raped.
As need far outstrips the ability of agencies to deliver aid, it is not too soon to sound a famine alert. Relief workers on the ground are convinced that few if any of the nearly 2 million IDPs will return to their homes in time for the next planting season, thus ensuring at least longer term food insecurity. The onset of the rainy season in late May will further restrict access.
Compounding the problem is that the numbers of at-risk civilians continue to increase. The Janjaweed continue to undertake attacks against villages, prey on IDPs, and obstruct aid activities. Many Janjaweed have been integrated into the army and police; no one has been charged with any crime, and their actions are not being challenged. There remains a state of total impunity.
Not since the Rwanda genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation and displacement. The Sudanese government continues to flout international law with impunity.
North-South Conflict not-equal (1K) Conflict in Darfur
On January 9, 2005, a peace deal was signed to end the long war between the government and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army/Movement (SPLM). This war, which has raged for the past 20 years, is commonly referred to as the North-South conflict and is often confused with the violence in Darfur. This peace deal signed earlier this year did not address the issues in Darfur, where the genocide continues.