Crisis In Darfur
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The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, was a major armed conflict in the
Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...
region of
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
that began in February 2003 when the
Sudan Liberation Movement The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ( ''Ḥarakat Taḥrīr as-Sūdān''; abbreviated SLM, SLA, or SLM/A) is a Sudanese rebel group active in Darfur, Sudan. It was founded as the Darfur Liberation FrontFlint, Julie and De Waal, Alexander (20 ...
(SLM) and the
Justice and Equality Movement The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM; , ') is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in December 2011. The JEM supported the removal ...
(JEM) rebel groups began fighting against the
government of Sudan The Government of Sudan is the Federalism, federal provisional government created by the Constitution of Sudan having executive, parliamentary, and the judicial branches. Previously, a President of Sudan, ''president'' was head of state, head of ...
, which they accused of oppressing Darfur's non-
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
population. The government responded to attacks by carrying out a campaign of
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...
against Darfur's non-Arabs. This resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the indictment of Sudan's president,
Omar al-Bashir Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (born 1 January 1944) is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Head of state of Sudan, Sudan's head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in 2019 Sudanese c ...
, for
genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
,
war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
s, and
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
by the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
. One side of the conflict is mainly composed of the Sudanese military, police, and the
Janjaweed The Janjaweed () are an Sudanese Arabs, Arab nomad militia group operating in the Sahel, Sahel region, specifically in Sudan, particularly in Darfur and eastern Chad. They have also been speculated to be active in Yemen. According to the United ...
, a Sudanese
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
group whose members are mostly recruited among
Arabized Arabization or Arabicization () is a sociological process of cultural change in which a non-Arab society becomes Arab, meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by the Arabic language, culture, literature, art, music, and ...
indigenous Africans and a small number of
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
of the northern
Rizeigat The Rizeigat (also spelled Rizigat, Rezeigat, and in standard Arabic, Rizayqat) are a Muslim and an Arab tribe of the nomadic Baggara people predominantly in Sudan's Darfur region and Chad. The Rizeigat belong to the greater Baggara Arabs fra ...
; the majority of other Arab groups in Darfur remained uninvolved. The other side is made up of rebel groups, notably the SLM/A and the JEM, recruited primarily from the non-Arab Muslim
Fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...
,
Zaghawa Zaghawa may refer to: * Zaghawa people * Zaghawa language Zaghawa is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken by the Zaghawa people of east-central Chad (in the Sahel) and northwestern Sudan (Darfur). The people who speak this language call it Beria, ...
, and Masalit ethnic groups. The
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
and the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
also have a joint peacekeeping mission in the region, named UNAMID. Although the Sudanese government publicly denies that it supported the Janjaweed, evidence supports claims that it provided financial assistance and weapons and coordinated joint attacks, many against civilians.
Uppsala Conflict Data Program The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) is a data collection program on organized violence, based at Uppsala University in Sweden. The UCDP is a leading provider of data on organized violence and armed conflict, and it is the oldest ongoing data ...
br>Conflict Encyclopedia, Sudan, one-sided conflict, Janjaweed – civilians
Estimates of the number of human casualties range up to several hundred thousand dead, from either combat or starvation and disease. Mass displacements and coercive migrations forced millions into refugee camps or across the border, creating a
humanitarian crisis A humanitarian crisis (or sometimes humanitarian disaster) is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people. It may be an internal or exter ...
.
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
Secretary of State
Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...
described the situation as a genocide or acts of genocide. The Sudanese government and the JEM signed a ceasefire agreement in February 2010, with a tentative agreement to pursue peace. The JEM had the most to gain from the talks and could have seen semi-autonomy, much like
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
. However, talks were disrupted by accusations that the Sudanese army launched raids and air strikes against a village, violating the Tolu agreement. The JEM, the largest rebel group in Darfur, vowed to boycott negotiations. The August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration, signed by military and civilian representatives during the
Sudanese Revolution The Sudanese revolution () was a major shift of political power in Sudan that started with street protests throughout Sudan on 19 December 2018 and continued with sustained civil disobedience for about eight months, during which the 2019 S ...
, requires that a
peace process A peace process is the set of political sociology, sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of ...
leading to a peace agreement be made in Darfur and other regions of armed conflict in Sudan within the first six months of the 39-month transition period to democratic civilian government. A comprehensive peace agreement was signed on 31 August 2020 between the Sudanese authorities and several rebel factions to end armed hostilities.


Origins of the conflict

Darfur,
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
for "the home of the
Fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...
", was not a traditional part of the states organized along the upper
Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
valley but instead organized as an independent
sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
ate in the 14th century. Owing to the migration of the
Banu Hilal The Banu Hilal () was a confederation of Arab tribes from the Najd region of the central Arabian Peninsula that emigrated to the Maghreb region of North Africa in the 11th century. They ruled the Najd, and campaigned in the borderlands between I ...
tribe in the 11th century AD, the peoples of the Nile valley became heavily
Arabicized Arabization or Arabicization () is a sociological process of cultural change in which a non-Arab society becomes Arab, meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by the Arabic language, culture, literature, art, music, and ...
while the hinterlands remained closer to native Sudanese cultures. It was first annexed to Egyptian Sudan in 1875 and then surrendered by its governor Slatin Pasha to the
Mahdist State The Mahdist State, also known as Mahdist Sudan or the Sudanese Mahdiyya, was a state based on a religious and political movement launched in 1881 by Muammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah (later Muhammad Mahdi, al-Mahdi) against ...
in 1883. Following the Anglo-Egyptian victory in the
Mahdist War The Mahdist War (; 1881–1899) was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese, led by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided One"), and the forces of the Khedivate of Egypt, initially, and later th ...
,
Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
Ali Dinar Muhammad Ali Dinar (; 6 November 1916), known more generally as Ali Dinar, was the last sultan of Darfur and ruler from the Keira dynasty. Ali Dinar ascended to the throne of Darfur in 1891, after his cousin, the 'shadow sultan' Abū l-Khayrāt, ...
was reinstated as a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
client before being deposed by a 1916 expedition after he began supporting the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
amid the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Subsequently, Darfur remained a part of the
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ') was a condominium (international law), condominium of the United Kingdom and Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day South Sudan and Sudan. Legally, sovereig ...
and the independent
Republic of the Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
. There are several different explanations for the origins of the conflict that started in 2003. One explanation involves the
land disputes Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land surface ...
between semi-
nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
ic livestock herders and those who practice sedentary agriculture. Water access has also been identified as a major source of the conflict. The Darfur crisis is also related to the
First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
and
Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...
s, between the
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
-dominated government and the
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
and
animist Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...
black southerners. Yet another origin is conflict between the Islamist, Khartoum-based national government and two
rebel groups Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
based in Darfur: the
Sudan Liberation Army The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ( ''Ḥarakat Taḥrīr as-Sūdān''; abbreviated SLM, SLA, or SLM/A) is a Sudanese rebel group active in Darfur, Sudan. It was founded as the Darfur Liberation FrontFlint, Julie and De Waal, Alexander (20 ...
(SLA) and the
Justice and Equality Movement The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM; , ') is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in December 2011. The JEM supported the removal ...
.


Allegations of apartheid

In early 1991, non-Arabs of the Zaghawa tribe of Sudan attested that they were victims of an intensifying Arab
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
campaign, segregating Arabs and non-Arabs. Sudanese Arabs, who controlled the government, were widely referred to as practicing apartheid against Sudan's non-Arab citizens. The government was accused of "deftly manipulat ngArab solidarity" to carry out policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing.Vukoni Lupa Lasaga, "The slow, violent death of apartheid in Sudan," 19 September 2006, Norwegian Council for Africa.
American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
economist
George Ayittey George B. N. Ayittey (13 October 1945 – 28 January 2022) was a Ghanaian economist and author. He was president of the Free Africa Foundation in Washington, D.C., a professor at American University, and an associate scholar at the Foreign P ...
accused the Arab government of Sudan of practicing
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
against black citizens. According to Ayittey, "In Sudan... the Arabs monopolized power and excluded blacks – Arab apartheid." Many African commentators joined Ayittey in accusing Sudan of practising Arab apartheid.
Alan Dershowitz Alan Morton Dershowitz ( ; born September 1, 1938) is an American lawyer and law professor known for his work in U.S. constitutional law, U.S. constitutional and American criminal law, criminal law. From 1964 to 2013, he taught at Harvard Law Sc ...
claimed Sudan was an example of
Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
. Former
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
Irwin Cotler Irwin Cotler (born 8 May 1940) is a retired Canadian politician who was Member of Parliament for Mount Royal from 1999 to 2015. He served as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal government of Paul ...
echoed the accusation.


History


Beginning

Authors Julie Flint and
Alex de Waal Alexander William Lowndes de Waal (born 22 February 1963), is the executive director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is an authority on famine and has worked on the Horn of Afri ...
date the beginning of the rebellion to 21 July 2001, when a group of
Zaghawa Zaghawa may refer to: * Zaghawa people * Zaghawa language Zaghawa is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken by the Zaghawa people of east-central Chad (in the Sahel) and northwestern Sudan (Darfur). The people who speak this language call it Beria, ...
and
Fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...
met in Abu Gamra and swore oaths on the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
(Nearly all of Darfur's residents are
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, including the
Janjaweed The Janjaweed () are an Sudanese Arabs, Arab nomad militia group operating in the Sahel, Sahel region, specifically in Sudan, particularly in Darfur and eastern Chad. They have also been speculated to be active in Yemen. According to the United ...
, as well as the government leaders in
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...
.) to work together to defend against government-sponsored attacks on their villages. The rebels' first military action was a successful attack on an army garrison on 25 February 2002. The government had been aware of a unified rebel movement since an attack on the Golo police station in June, 2002. Flint and de Waal place the start of the
Darfur Genocide The Darfur genocide was the systematic killing of ethnic Darfuri people during the War in Darfur. The genocide, which was carried out against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, led the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict sev ...
on 26 February 2003, when a group calling itself the
Darfur Liberation Front The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ( ''Ḥarakat Taḥrīr as-Sūdān''; abbreviated SLM, SLA, or SLM/A) is a Sudanese rebel group active in Darfur, Sudan. It was founded as the Darfur Liberation FrontFlint, Julie and De Waal, Alexander (20 ...
(DLF) publicly claimed responsibility for an attack on Golo, the headquarters of Jebel Marra District. By this point several rebel attacks had been carried out against police stations, army outposts and military convoys and the government engaged in a massive air and land assault on the rebel stronghold in the
Marrah Mountains The Marrah Mountains or Marra Mountains (Fur, Fugo Marra; , Jebel Marra) are a range of volcanic peaks in a massif that rises up to . They are the highest mountains in Sudan. Geography The mountains are located in the center of the Darfur region ...
. On 25 March 2003, the rebels seized the garrison town of Tine along the Chadian border, seizing large quantities of supplies and arms. Despite a threat by President
Omar al-Bashir Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (born 1 January 1944) is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Head of state of Sudan, Sudan's head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in 2019 Sudanese c ...
to "unleash" the army, the military had little in reserve. The army was already deployed in both the south, where the
Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...
was drawing to an end, and the east, where
rebels A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...
sponsored by
Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...
were threatening a newly constructed pipeline from the central oilfields to
Port Sudan Port Sudan (, Beja: ) is a port city on the Red Sea in eastern Sudan, and the capital of Red Sea State. Port Sudan is Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% of the country's international trade. The population of Port Sudan was estimated in ...
. The rebel guerilla tactic of hit-and-run raids proved almost impossible for the army – untrained in desert operations – to counter. However, its aerial bombardment of rebel positions on the mountain was devastating. At 5:30 am on 25 April 2003, the
Darfur genocide The Darfur genocide was the systematic killing of ethnic Darfuri people during the War in Darfur. The genocide, which was carried out against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, led the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict sev ...
arose when the Sudan Liberation Movement and the JEM, which is the largest rebel group in Darfur, entered
Al-Fashir Al-Fashir or El Fasher () is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a city in the Darfur region of southwestern Sudan, northeast of Nyala, Sudan. "Al-Fashir" (description) ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007, webpage: A historical ...
, the capital city of North Darfur and attacked the sleeping garrison. In the next four hours, four
Antonov Antonov (d/b/a Antonov Company, formerly the Aeronautical Scientific-Technical Complex named after Antonov or Antonov ASTC, and earlier the Antonov Design Bureau, for its chief designer, Oleg Antonov) is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and ...
bombers and helicopter gunships (according to the government; seven according to the rebels) were destroyed on the ground, 75 soldiers, pilots and technicians were killed and 32 were captured, including the commander of the air base, a Major General. The success of the raid was unprecedented in Sudan; in the twenty years of the war in the south, the rebel
Sudan People's Liberation Army The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the military force of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a key parti ...
(SPLA) had never before carried out such an operation. The Al-Fashir raid was a turning point, both militarily and psychologically. The armed forces had been humiliated by the raid, placing the government in a difficult strategic situation. The incompetent armed forces needed to be retrained and redeployed amid concerns about the loyalty of the many Darfurian non-commissioned officers and soldiers. Responsibility for prosecuting the war was given to Sudanese military intelligence. Nevertheless, in the middle months of 2003, rebels won 34 of 38 engagements. In May, the SLA destroyed a battalion at
Kutum Kutum is a town in the Sudanese state of North Darfur. It lies northwest of the state capital, Al-Fashir. The town is located along a wadi and therefore also known as Wadi Kutum. It lies north along the Marrah Mountains; the Kutum volcanic fi ...
, killing 500 and taking 300 prisoners; in mid-July, 250 were killed in a second attack on Tine. The SLA began to infiltrate farther east, threatening to extend the war into
Kordofan Kordofan ( ') is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan. In August 2005, West Kordofan State was abolished and its territory divided between N ...
. Given that the army was consistently losing, the war effort switched to emphasize three elements: military intelligence, the air force and the
Janjaweed The Janjaweed () are an Sudanese Arabs, Arab nomad militia group operating in the Sahel, Sahel region, specifically in Sudan, particularly in Darfur and eastern Chad. They have also been speculated to be active in Yemen. According to the United ...
. The latter were armed
Baggara The Baggāra ( "heifer herder"), also known as Chadian Arabs, are a nomadic confederation of people of mixed Arab and Arabized indigenous African ancestry, inhabiting a portion of the Sahel mainly between Lake Chad and the Nile river near sou ...
herders whom the government had used to suppress a Masalit uprising from 1986 to 1999. The Janjaweed became the center of the new
counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...
strategy. Though the government consistently denied supporting them, military resources were poured into Darfur and the Janjaweed were outfitted as a paramilitary force, complete with communication equipment and some artillery. The military planners were aware of the probable consequences of such a strategy: similar methods undertaken in the Nuba Mountains and around the southern oil fields during the 1990s had resulted in massive human rights violations and
forced displacement Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of perse ...
s.


2004–2005

In 2004, Chad brokered negotiations in
N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Chad, largest city of Chad. It is also a Provinces of Chad, special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements'', similar to the city of Paris. Originally calle ...
, leading to the April 8 Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement between the Sudanese government, the JEM, and the SLA. One group that did not participate in the April cease-fire talks or agreement was the National Movement for Reform and Development, who had split from the JEM in April. Janjaweed and rebel attacks continued despite the ceasefire, and the
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
(AU) formed a Ceasefire Commission (CFC) to monitor its observance. In August, the African Union sent 150
Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
n troops to protect the ceasefire monitors. However, it soon became apparent that 150 troops would not be enough, and they were subsequently joined by 150
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
n troops. On 18 September, the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
issued Resolution 1564 declaring that the Sudanese government had not met its commitments and expressing concern at helicopter attacks and assaults by the Janjaweed. It welcomed the intention of the African Union to enhance its monitoring mission and urged all member states to support such efforts. During April, 2005, after the Sudanese government signed a ceasefire agreement with
Sudan People's Liberation Army The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the military force of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a key parti ...
(SPLA) which led to the end of the
Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...
, the
African Union Mission in Sudan The African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) was an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force operating primarily in the country's western region of Darfur to perform peacekeeping operations related to the Darfur conflict. It was founded in 2004, with ...
(AMIS) force was increased by 600 troops and 80 military observers. In July, the force was increased by about 3,300 (with a budget of 220 million dollars). In April, 2005, AMIS's forces were increased to about 7,000. The scale of the crisis led to warnings of an imminent disaster, with
United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...
warning about the risk of genocide. The scale of the Janjaweed campaign led to comparisons with the
Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...
, a parallel denied by the Sudanese government. Independent observers noted that the tactics, which included dismemberment and killing of noncombatants, including young children and infants, were more akin to the
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...
used in the
Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...
and warned that the region's remoteness meant that hundreds of thousands of people were effectively cut off from aid. The Brussels-based
International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a global non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, conducting research and analysis on global crises. ...
had reported in May 2004 that over 350,000 people could potentially die as a result of
starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, de ...
and disease.'Dozens killed' in Sudan attack
(BBC) 24 May 2004
On 10 July 2005, SPLA leader
John Garang John Garang De Mabior (June 23, 1945 – July 30, 2005) was a Sudanese politician and revolutionary leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M, Now known as South Sudan People's Defense Forces) as a co ...
was sworn in as Sudan's vice-president.Sudan ex-rebel joins government
(BBC) 10 July 2005
However, on 30 July, Garang died in a helicopter crash.Sudan VP Garang killed in crash
(BBC) 1 August 2005
Despite improved security, talks between the various rebels in the Darfur region progressed slowly. An attack on the Chadian town of
Adré Adré () is the main town of the Assoungha department in the Ouaddaï Region of Chad. It is located very close to Chad's eastern border with Sudan, 400m away. The town is served by Adré Airport. History The Chadian-Sudanese conflict began on ...
near the Sudanese border led to the death of 300 rebels in December. Sudan was blamed for the attack, which was the second in the region in three days.Chad fightback 'kills 300 rebels'
(BBC) 20 December 2005
Escalating tensions led the
government of Chad The Government of Chad (French: ''Gouvernement du Tchad'') has been ruled by Mahamat Déby since 20 April 2021 as part of the National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council (NTC) was a transitional government established ...
to declare its hostility toward Sudan and to call for Chadians to mobilise against the "common enemy"Chad in 'state of war' with Sudan
By Stephanie Hancock, BBC News,
N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Chad, largest city of Chad. It is also a Provinces of Chad, special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements'', similar to the city of Paris. Originally calle ...
, 23 December 2005
(see Chad-Sudan conflict).


2006

On 5 May 2006, the Sudanese government signed the
Darfur Peace Agreement The Darfur Peace Agreement may refer to one of three peace agreements that were signed by the Government of Sudan and Darfur-based rebel groups in 2006, 2011 and 2020 with the intention of ending the Darfur Conflict. Abuja Agreement (2006) Th200 ...
along with the faction of the SLA led by
Minni Minnawi Suliman Arcua Minnawi (; born 12 December 1968), also known as "Minni Minnawi" (), is a Sudanese politician and the leader of a faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army. A former educator, Minnawi served as secretary to Sudan Liberation Army lead ...
. However, the agreement was rejected by the smaller JEM and a rival faction of the SLA led by
Abdul Wahid al Nur Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; , ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, meaning "the"). It ...
. The accord was orchestrated by chief negotiator
Salim Ahmed Salim Salim Ahmed Salim (, , born 23 January 1942) is a Tanzanian politician and diplomat who has worked in the international diplomatic arena since the early 1960s. He served as prime minister for one year, from 1984 to 1985. Early life Salim was b ...
(working on behalf of the
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
), U.S.
Deputy Secretary of State The deputy secretary of state of the United States is the principal deputy to the secretary of state. If the secretary of state resigns or dies, the deputy secretary of state becomes acting secretary of state until the president nominates and the ...
Robert B. Zoellick, AU representatives and other foreign officials operating in
Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
, Nigeria. The 115-page agreement included agreements on national and state power-sharing, demilitarization of the Janjaweed and other militias, an integration of Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and JEM troops into the
Sudanese Armed Forces The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. The force strength has been estimated at personnel in 2011 (by IISS), 200,000 personnel before the current war in Sudan broke out in 2023 (by the CIA), and ...
and police, a system of federal wealth-sharing for the promotion of Darfurian economic interests, a
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
on the future status of Darfur and measures to promote the flow of humanitarian aid. Representatives of the African Union, Nigeria,
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
, the United States, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, the United Nations, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, the
Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, Canada,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
and the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
served as witnesses. Renewed fighting began in July and August 2006, and international aid organizations considered leaving due to attacks against their personnel. Annan called for 18,000 international peacekeepers in Darfur to replace the 7,000-man AMIS force. In one incident at Kalma, seven women, who ventured out of a refugee camp to gather firewood, were gang-raped, beaten and robbed by the Janjaweed. When they had finished, the attackers stripped them naked and jeered at them as they fled. In a private meeting on 18 August,
Hédi Annabi Hédi Annabi (4 September 1943 – 12 January 2010) was a Tunisian diplomat and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, Head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). He was previously an Assistant-Secretary-G ...
, Assistant Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Operations Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...
, warned that Sudan appeared to be preparing for a major military offensive. The warning came a day after
UN Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of th ...
special investigator
Sima Samar Sima Samar (; born 3 February 1957) is a Hazara human rights advocate, activist and medical doctor within national and international forums, who served as Vice President of Afghanistan in the interim Government of Hamid Karzai & Minister for Wo ...
stated that Sudan's efforts remained poor despite the May Agreement. On 19 August, Sudan reiterated its opposition to replacing AMIS with a UN force, resulting in the US issuing a "threat" to Sudan over the "potential consequences". On 25 August, Sudan rejected attending a
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
(UNSC) meeting to explain its plan to send 10,000 Sudanese soldiers to Darfur instead of the proposed 20,000 UN peacekeeping force. The Security Council announced it would hold the meeting despite Sudan's absence. Also on 24 August, the
International Rescue Committee The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization. Founded in 1933 as the International Relief Association, at the request of Albert Einstein, and changing its name in 1 ...
reported that hundreds of women were raped and
sexually assaulted Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexua ...
around the Kalma refugee camp during the previous several weeks and that the Janjaweed were reportedly using rape to cause women to be humiliated and ostracised by their own communities. On 25 August, the head of the U.S. State Department's
Bureau of African Affairs The Bureau of African Affairs (AF) is part of the United States Department of State and is charged with advising the Secretary of State on matters of Sub-Saharan Africa. The bureau was established in 1958. It is headed by the Assistant Secretar ...
, Assistant Secretary
Jendayi Frazer Jendayi Elizabeth Frazer (born 1961) is the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, heading the Bureau of African Affairs. She was a Distinguished Service Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College and Departme ...
, warned that the region faced a security crisis unless the UN peacekeeping force deployed. On 26 August, two days before the UNSC meeting and Frazer was due to arrive in
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...
,
Paul Salopek Paul Salopek (born February 9, 1962) is an American journalist and writer raised in central Mexico. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. Salopek has reported globally for the ''Chicago Tribune'', ''Foreign Policy'', ''The Atlantic'', ''Natio ...
, a U.S. ''
National Geographic Magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'' journalist, appeared in court in Darfur facing charges of espionage; he had crossed into the country illegally from
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
, circumventing the Sudanese government's official restrictions on foreign journalists. He was later released after direct negotiation with President al-Bashir. This came a month after
Tomo Križnar Tomo Križnar (born 26 August 1954) is a peace activist, notable for delivering video cameras in Southern Kordofan to the local ethnic Nuba civilians in order to help them collect the evidence of North Sudan military's war crimes against them. He ...
, a
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
n presidential envoy, was sentenced to two years in prison for spying.


Proposed UN peacekeeping force

On 31 August 2006, the UNSC approved a resolution to send a new peacekeeping force of 17,300 to the region. Sudan expressed strong opposition to the resolution. On 1 September, African Union officials reported that Sudan had launched a major offensive in Darfur, killing more than 20 civilians and displacing over 1,000. On 5 September, Sudan asked the existing AU force to leave by the end of the month, adding that "they have no right to transfer this assignment to the United Nations or any other party. This right rests with the government of Sudan." On 4 September, in a move not viewed as surprising, Chad's president
Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ( '; 18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the sixth List of heads of state of Chad, president of Chad from 1991 until his death in 2021 during the 2021 Northern Chad offensive, No ...
voiced support for the UN peacekeeping force. The AU, whose mandate expired on 30 September 2006, confirmed that the AMIS would leave. The next day, however, a senior US State Department official told reporters that the AU force might remain past the deadline.


Autumn

On 8 September,
António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...
, head of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...
, said Darfur faced a "humanitarian catastrophe". On 12 September, Sudan's
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
envoy
Pekka Haavisto Pekka Olavi Haavisto (; born 23 March 1958) is a Finnish politician of the Green League who served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2023. Haavisto returned to the Finnish Parliament in the Finnish parliamentary election of M ...
claimed that the Sudanese army was "bombing civilians in Darfur". A
World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...
official reported that food aid had been blocked from reaching at least 355,000 people. Annan said, "the tragedy in Darfur has reached a critical moment. It merits this council's closest attention and urgent action." On 14 September, the leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement,
Minni Minnawi Suliman Arcua Minnawi (; born 12 December 1968), also known as "Minni Minnawi" (), is a Sudanese politician and the leader of a faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army. A former educator, Minnawi served as secretary to Sudan Liberation Army lead ...
, stated that he did not object to the UN peacekeeping force, rejecting the Sudanese government's view that such a deployment would be an act of Western invasion. Minnawi claimed that AMIS "can do nothing because the AU mandate is very limited". Khartoum remained opposed to UN involvement, with al-Bashir depicting it as a colonial plan and stating that "we do not want Sudan to turn into another Iraq." On 2 October, the AU announced that it would extend its presence until 31 December 2006."Genocide survivors urges EU sanctions over Darfur"
, ''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
'', 20 October 2006
Two hundred UN troops were sent to reinforce the AU force. On 6 October, the UNSC voted to extend the mandate of the
United Nations Mission in Sudan The United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) was established by the UN Security Council under Resolution 1590 of 24 March 2005, in response to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government of the Sudan and the Sud ...
until 30 April 2007. On 9 October, the
Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...
listed Darfur as the most pressing food emergency out of the forty countries listed on its ''Crop Prospects and Food Situation'' report. On 10 October, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Louise Arbour Louise Arbour, (born February 10, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer, prosecutor and jurist. Arbour was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former Chief Pr ...
, claimed that the Sudanese government had prior knowledge of attacks by Janjaweed militias in Buram,
South Darfur South Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ǧanūb Dārfūr; Janob Darfor) is one of the States of Sudan, wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states that compose the Darfur, region of Darfur in western Sudan. Overview Prior to the creation of t ...
the month before, in which hundreds of civilians were killed. On 12 October, Nigerian
Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
Joy Ogwu Joy Uche Angela Ogwu (born August 22, 1946) is a former Foreign Minister of Nigeria, foreign minister of Nigeria and a former Permanent Representative, permanent representative of Nigeria to the United Nations in New York from 2008 to 2017. She ...
arrived in Darfur for a two-day visit. She urged the Sudanese government to accept the UN proposal. Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
spoke against "stand ngby and see nggenocide taking place in Darfur." On 13 October, US President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
imposed further sanctions against those deemed complicit in the atrocities under the '' Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006''. The measures were said to strengthen existing sanctions by prohibiting US citizens from engaging in oil-related transactions with Sudan (although US companies had been prohibited from doing business with Sudan since 1997), freezing the assets of complicit parties and denying them entry to the US. The lack of funding and equipment for the AU mission meant that the work of aid workers in Darfur was severely limited by fighting. Some warned that the humanitarian situation could deteriorate to levels seen in 2003 and 2004, when UN officials called Darfur the world's worst humanitarian crisis. On 22 October, the Government of Sudan told UN envoy
Jan Pronk Johannes Pieter "Jan" Pronk Jr. (; born 16 March 1940) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Labour Party (Netherlands), Labour Party (PvdA) and activist. Pronk studied Economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam School ...
to leave the country within three days. Pronk, the senior UN official in the country, had been heavily criticized by the Sudanese army after he posted a description of several recent military defeats in Darfur to his personal blog. On 1 November, the US announced that it would formulate an international plan which it hoped the Sudanese government would find more palatable. On 9 November, senior Sudanese presidential advisor Nafie Ali Nafie told reporters that his government was prepared to start unconditional talks with the
National Redemption Front The National Redemption Front (NRF) is an alliance of opposition groups in Darfur, Sudan. According to their foundation declaration, the NRF consists of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a holdout faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ...
(NRF) rebel alliance, but noted he saw little use for a new peace agreement. The NRF, which had rejected the May Agreement and sought a new peace agreement, did not comment. In late 2006, Darfur Arabs started their own rebel group, the Popular Forces Troops, and announced on 6 December that they had repulsed an assault by the Sudanese army at Kas-Zallingi the previous day. They were the latest of numerous Darfur Arab groups to oppose the government since 2003, some of which had signed political accords with rebel movements. The same period saw an example of a tribe-based split within the Arab forces, when relations between the farming Terjem and nomadic, camel-herding tribes became tense. Terjem leaders accused the Mahria of kidnapping a Terjem boy, while Mahria leaders said the Terjem had been stealing their animals. Ali Mahamoud Mohammed, the wali, or governor, of South Darfur, said the fighting began in December when the Mahria drove their camels south in a seasonal migration, trampling through Terjem territory near the Bulbul River. Fighting resumed in July 2007.Gettleman, Jeffrey,
Chaos in Darfur on rise as Arabs fight with Arabs
", news article, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', 3 September 2007, pp 1, A7


Proposed compromise UN force and Sudanese offensive

On 17 November, reports of a potential deal to place a "compromise peacekeeping force" in Darfur were announced, but would later appear to have been rejected by Sudan. The UN claimed on 18 November that Sudan had agreed to the deployment of UN peacekeepers. Sudan's
Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
Lam Akol Lam Akol Ajawin, is a South Sudanese politician of Shilluk people, Shilluk descent. He is the current leader of National Democratic Movement (NDM) party. He is a former high-ranking official in the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), and subse ...
stated that "there should be no talk about a mixed force" and that the UN's role should be restricted to technical support. Also on 18 November, the AU reported that Sudanese military and Sudanese-backed militias had launched a ground and air operation in the region that resulted in about 70 civilian deaths. The AU stated that this "was a flagrant violation of security agreements". On 25 November, a spokesperson for UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...
accused the Sudanese government of having committed "a deliberate and unprovoked attack" against civilians in Sirba on 11 November, which claimed the lives of at least 30 people. The Commissioner's statement maintained that "contrary to the government's claim, it appears that the Sudanese Armed Forces launched a deliberate and unprovoked attack on civilians and their property in Sirba," and that this also involved "extensive and wanton destruction and looting of civilian property".


2007

According to the
Save Darfur Coalition The Save Darfur Coalition was an advocacy group that attempted "to raise public awareness and mobilize a massive response to the atrocities in Sudan's western region of Darfur." The headquarters was located in Washington, D.C. It was a coalition ...
,
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
Governor Bill Richardson and al-Bashir agreed to a cease-fire whereby the Sudanese "government and rebel groups will cease hostilities for a period of 60 days while they work towards a lasting peace." In addition, the Save Darfur press release stated that the agreement "included a number of concessions to improve humanitarian aid and media access to Darfur." Despite the formality of a ceasefire there were further media reports of killings and other violence. On 15 April 2007, African Union peacekeepers were targeted and killed. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported that "a confidential United Nations report says the government of Sudan is flying arms and heavy military equipment into Darfur in violation of Security Council resolutions and painting Sudanese military planes white to disguise them as United Nations or African Union aircraft." On 28 February, Sudan's humanitarian affairs minister, Ahmed Haroun, and Janjaweed militia leader,
Ali Kushayb Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (), commonly known as Ali Kushayb () (also: ''Koship'', ''Kosheib'', ''Kouchib'', ''Kosheb'', ''Koshib''), is a senior Janjaweed commander who supported the Sudanese government against Darfur rebel groups during th ...
, were charged by the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
with 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ahmed Haroun said he "did not feel guilty", his conscience was clear, and that he was ready to defend himself. On 31 March, Janjaweed militiamen killed 200 to 400 people in the eastern border region of Chad near Sudan. The border villages of Tiero and Marena were encircled and then fired upon. The women were robbed and the men shot according to the
UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...
. Many of those who survived the initial attack, ended up dying due to exhaustion and dehydration, often while fleeing. On 14 April 2007, more attacks were reported by the UNHCR in Tiero and Marena. On 18 April President Bush gave a speech at the US
Holocaust Memorial Museum A number of organizations, museums and monuments are intended to serve as memorials to the Holocaust, the Nazi Final Solution, and its millions of victims. Memorials and museums listed by country: __NOTOC__ A - D: AlbaniaArgentinaAustraliaAustr ...
criticizing the Sudanese government and threatened further sanctions if the situation did not improve. Al-Bashir and
President of Chad This is a list of presidents of Chad since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day. A total of eight people have served as head of state of Chad, including two interim heads of state. Additionally, Goukouni Ouedd ...
,
Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ( '; 18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the sixth List of heads of state of Chad, president of Chad from 1991 until his death in 2021 during the 2021 Northern Chad offensive, No ...
signed a peace agreement on 3 May 2007 aimed at reducing tension between their countries. The accord was brokered by
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
. It asserted that neither country would harbor, train or fund armed movements opposed to the other. Reuters reported that "Deby's fears that
Nouri Nuri (also spelled Nouri, Noori, Nori or Noory, , , ) is a unisex name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Nuri Ja'far (1914–1991), Iraqi psychologist and philosopher of education * Nuri Badran (born 1943), Iraqi ...
's UFDD may have been receiving Saudi as well as Sudanese support could have pushed him to sign the Saudi-mediated pact with Bashir". Colin Thomas-Jensen, an expert on Chad and Darfur at the
International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a global non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, conducting research and analysis on global crises. ...
think-tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
expressed doubts as to whether "this new deal will lead to any genuine thaw in relations or improvement in the security situation". Chadian rebel Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) which had fought a hit-and-run war against Déby's forces in eastern Chad since 2006, stated that the Saudi-backed peace deal would not stop its military campaign.
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...
announced on 17 June that it would permanently pull out of Gereida, the largest refugee camp, which had a population of over 130,000. The agency cited inaction by local authorities from the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), which controls the region, in addressing security concerns and violence against aid workers. An employee of the
NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
Action by Churches Together was murdered in June in West Darfur. Vehicle hijackings also made them consider leaving.
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
reported that a huge underground lake had been found. This find could eliminate the competition for water resources.
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and Britain announced they would push for a UN resolution to dispatch African Union and United Nations peacekeepers to Darfur and would push for an immediate cease-fire in Darfur and are prepared to provide "substantial" economic aid "as soon as a cease-fire makes it possible". A 14 July 2007 article noted that in the past two months up to 75,000 Arabs from Chad and
Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
had crossed into Darfur. Most have been relocated by Sudanese government to former villages of displaced non-Arab people. A hybrid UN/AU force was finally approved on 31 July with the unanimously approved
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769, adopted unanimously on July 31, 2007, after reaffirming all resolutions on the situation in Sudan, the Council established the joint African Union – United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNA ...
. UNAMID was to take over from AMIS by 31 December at the latest, and had an initial mandate up to 31 July 2008. On 31 July, Mahria gunmen surrounded mourners at the funeral of an important Terjem sheik and killed 60 with
rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a Shaped charge, shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can ...
s (RPGs) and belt-fed machine guns. Between 3 August and 5 August a conference was held in
Arusha Arusha is a city in Tanzania. The city is the Capital city, capital of the Arusha Region. It has a population of 617,631 people.
to unite the rebel groups to streamline the subsequent peace negotiations with the government. Most senior rebel leaders attended, with the notable exception of
Abdul Wahid al Nur Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; , ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, meaning "the"). It ...
, who headed a rather small splinter group of the SLA/M that he had initially founded in 2003, was considered to be the representatives of a large part of the displaced
Fur people The Fur ( Fur: ''fòòrà'', Arabic: فور ''Fūr'') are an ethnic group predominantly inhabiting Darfur, the western part of Sudan, where they are the largest ethnic group.Gettleman, Jeffrey, "Chaos in Darfur on rise as Arabs fight with Ara ...
. His absence was damaging to the peace talks. International officials stated that there is "no
John Garang John Garang De Mabior (June 23, 1945 – July 30, 2005) was a Sudanese politician and revolutionary leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M, Now known as South Sudan People's Defense Forces) as a co ...
in Darfur", referring to the leader of the negotiating team of
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
, who was universally accepted by the various South Sudanese rebel groups. The participants were Gamali Galaleiddine, Khalil Abdalla Adam, Salah Abu Surra, Khamis Abdallah Abakar, Ahmed Abdelshafi, Abdalla Yahya,
Khalil Ibrahim Khalil Ibrahim (; 1957 – 22 or 24 December 2011) was a Sudanese insurgent leader who was the founder of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which he led until his death. In the 1990s Ibrahim served in several state governments of Suda ...
(of the
Justice and Equality Movement The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM; , ') is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in December 2011. The JEM supported the removal ...
) and Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Diraige. Closed-door meetings between the AU-UN and rebel leaders, as well as among rebel leaders took place. Eight more participants arrived on 4 August (including Jar el-Neby, Salah Adam Isaac and Suleiman Marajan), while the SLM Unity faction boycotted the talks because the Sudanese government had threatened to arrest Suleiman Jamous if he left the hospital. The rebel leaders aimed to unify their positions and demands, which included compensation for the victims and autonomy for Darfur. They eventually reached agreement on joint demands, including power and wealth sharing, security, land and humanitarian issues. In the months through August, Arab tribes that had worked together in the Janjaweed militia began falling out among themselves, and further splintered. Thousands of Terjem and Mahria gunmen traveled hundreds of miles to fight in the strategic Bulbul river valley. Farther south, Habanniya and Salamat tribes clashed. The fighting did not result in as many deaths as in 2003 and 2004. United Nations officials said the groups might be trying to seize land before peacekeepers arrived. On 18 September, the JEM stated that if the peace talks with
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...
should fail, they would step up their demands from self-determination to independence. On 30 September, the rebels overran an AMIS base, killing at least 12 peacekeepers in "the heaviest loss of life and biggest attack on the African Mission" during a raid at the end of
Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...
season. Peace talks started on 27 October in
Sirte Sirte (; , ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, almost right in the middle between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups and loyal ...
, Libya. The following groups attended: * Justice and Equality Movement splinters: ** Justice and Equality Movement–Collective Leadership, led by Bahr Idriss Abu Garda ** Justice and Equality Movement–Azraq, led by Idriss Ibrahim Azraq ** National Movement for Reform and Development, led by Khalil Abdullah * Revolutionary Democratic Forces Front, led by Salah Abu Surrah * United Revolutionary Force Front, led by Alhadi Agabeldour * Sudan Liberation Movement–G19, led by Khamees Abdullah * Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance, led by Ahmed Ibrahim Diraige The following groups did not attend: *
Justice and Equality Movement The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM; , ') is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in December 2011. The JEM supported the removal ...
, led by Khalil Ibrahim; they object to the presence of rebel groups they say had no constituency and no place at the table. * Sudan Liberation Movement (Abdel Wahed), led by Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur; the group has few forces, but its leader is highly respected; refused to attend until a force was deployed to stem the Darfur violence. * Sudan Liberation Movement–Unity, originally led by Abdallah Yehya, includes many other prominent figures (Sherif Harir, Abu Bakr Kadu, Ahmed Kubur); the group with the largest number of rebel fighters; object for the same reason as the JEM. * Ahmed Abdel Shafi, a notable rebel enjoying strong support from the Fur tribe. Faced with a boycott from the most important rebel factions, the talks were rebranded as an "advanced consultation phase", with official talks likely to start in November or December. On 15 November, nine rebel groups – six SLM factions, the Democratic Popular Front, the Sudanese Revolutionary Front and the Justice and Equality Movement–Field Revolutionary Command – signed a Charter of Unification and agreed to operate under the name of SLM/A henceforth. On 30 November it was announced that Darfur's rebel movements had united into two large groups and were now ready to negotiate in an orderly manner with the government.


2008

On 20 February, rebels and humanitarian workers reported that a fresh government/militia offensive had trapped thousands of refugees along the
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
ian border. As of 21 February, the total dead in Darfur stood at 450,000 with an estimated 3,245,000 people displaced. On 10 May 2008
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
ese government soldiers and
Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...
rebels clashed in the city of
Omdurman Omdurman () is a major city in Sudan. It is the second most populous city in the country, located in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the capital city of Khartoum. The city acts ...
, opposite the capital of
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...
, over the control of a military headquarters. They also raided a police base from which they stole police vehicles. A Sudanese police spokesperson said that the leader of the assailants, Mohamed Saleh Garbo, and his intelligence chief, Mohamed Nur Al-Deen, were killed in the clash. Witnesses said that heavy gunfire could be heard in the west of Sudan's capital. Sudanese troops backed by tanks, artillery, and helicopter gunships were immediately deployed to Omdurman, and fighting raged for several hours. After seizing the strategic military airbase at Wadi-Sayedna, the Sudanese soldiers eventually defeated the rebels. A JEM force headed to the Al-Ingaz bridge to cross the
White Nile The White Nile ( ') is a river in Africa, the minor of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the larger being the Blue Nile. The name "White" comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color. In the stri ...
into Khartoum. By late afternoon, Sudanese TV claimed that the rebels had been "completely repulsed", while showing live images of burnt vehicles and corpses on the streets. The government imposed a curfew in Khartoum from 5 pm to 6 am, while aid agencies told their workers in the capital to stay indoors. Some 93 soldiers and 13 policemen were killed along with 30 civilians in the attack on Khartoum and Omdurman. Sudanese forces confirmed that they found the bodies of 90 rebels and had spotted dozens more strewn outside the city limits. While Sudanese authorities claimed that up to 400 rebels could have been killed, the rebels stated that they lost 45 fighters dead or wounded. Sudanese authorities also claimed to have destroyed 40 rebel vehicles and captured 17.


2009

General Martin Agwai, head of the joint African Union-United Nations mission in Darfur, said the war was over in the region, although low-level disputes remained. There was still " nditry, localised issues, people trying to resolve issues over water and land at a local level. But real war as such, I think we are over that," he said.


2010 to 2012

In December 2010, representatives of the
Liberation and Justice Movement The Liberation and Justice Movement is a rebel group in the Darfur conflict in Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west ...
(LJM), an umbrella organisation of ten rebel groups formed in February 2010, started a fresh round of talks with the Sudanese government in
Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...
. A new rebel group, the Sudanese Alliance Resistance Forces in Darfur was formed and JEM planned further talks. Talks ended on 19 December with agreement only on basic principles; these included a regional authority and a referendum on autonomy. The possibility of a Darfuri Vice-President was discussed. In January 2011, the leader of the LJM, Dr. Tijani Sese, stated that the movement had accepted the core proposals of the Darfur peace document as proposed by the mediators in Doha. The proposals included a $300,000,000 compensation package for victims of atrocities in Darfur and special courts to conduct trials of persons accused of human rights violations. Proposals for a new Darfur Regional Authority were included. This authority would have an executive council of 18 ministers and would remain in place for five years. The current three Darfur states and state governments would continue to exist during this period. In February, the Sudanese government rejected the idea of a single region headed by a vice-president from the region. On 29 January, the LJM and JEM leaders issued a joint statement affirming their commitment to the Doha negotiations and intention to attend the Doha forum on 5 February. The Sudanese government postponed decision to attend the forum due to beliefs that an internal peace process without the involvement of rebel groups might be possible. Later in February, the Sudanese government agreed to return to Doha with a view to complete a new peace agreement by the end of that month. On 25 February, both the LJM and the JEM announced that they had rejected the peace document proposed by the mediators in Doha. The main sticking points were the issues of a Darfuri vice-president and compensation for victims. The Sudanese government did not comment on the peace document. On 9 March, it was announced that two more states would be established in Darfur:
Central Darfur Central Darfur State () is a state in south-western Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. It was created in January 2012 as a result of the ongoing peace process for the wider Darfur region. The state capital is Zalingei. The sta ...
around
Zalingei Zalingei or Zalinjay () is a town in Sudan, Western Sudan, and it is capital of Central Darfur state. As of 2009, it had an estimated population of 27,258. The town experiencing security instability since 2003. This is because of the rebels and ar ...
and Eastern Darfur around
Ed Daein El Daein (also spelt Ad Du'ayn, Ad Da'en or Ed Da'ein; ) is a city located in southwestern Sudan. It lies about 831 km from the capital Khartoum and has population of about 300,000 people. El Daein is the capital of the state of East Da ...
. The rebel groups protested and stated that this was a bid to further divide Darfur's influence. Advising both the LJM and JEM during the Doha peace negotiations was the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG). Led by Dr.
Paul Williams Paul Williams may refer to: Authors * Paul Williams (Crawdaddy) (1948–2013), American music and science fiction journalist; founder of ''Crawdaddy'' and the Philip K. Dick Society * Paul Williams (Irish journalist) (born 1964), Irish journalis ...
and Matthew T. Simpson, PILPG's team provided legal support. In June, a new Darfur Peace Agreement (2011) was proposed by the Doha mediators. This agreement was to supersede the Abuja Agreement of 2005 and when signed, would halt preparations for a Darfur status referendum. The proposed document included provisions for a Darfuri Vice-President and an administrative structure that included three
states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
and a strategic regional authority, the
Darfur Regional Authority The Darfur Regional Government is an administrative body for the Darfur region of the Republic of Sudan. A Transitional Darfur Regional Authority was established in April 2007 under the terms of the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May 2 ...
. The agreement was signed by the Government of Sudan and the LJM on 14 July 2011. On 1 February 2012, clashes between the JEM and a group of armed Arab citizens in East Darfur left 3 rebels killed, the attacks occurred as a response to repeated violations by JEM in the area. On 22 February, the Sudan Liberation Movement led by
Minni Minnawi Suliman Arcua Minnawi (; born 12 December 1968), also known as "Minni Minnawi" (), is a Sudanese politician and the leader of a faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army. A former educator, Minnawi served as secretary to Sudan Liberation Army lead ...
(SLM-MM) killed 12 Sudanese soldiers and took control of the Alawna area in North Darfur. The SLM-MM also said they destroyed one vehicle and captured another belonging to the Sudanese forces and said one of their soldiers was wounded in the fighting. Little progress occurred after September 2012 and the situation slowly worsened and violence was escalating. The population of displaced Sudanese in IDP camps also increased.


2013

A donors conference in Doha pledged US$3.6 billion to help rebuild Darfur. The conference was criticised in the region that the Sudan Liberation Army (Minni Minnawi) rebels had taken. According to the group's Hussein Minnawi, Ashma village and another town close to the
South Darfur South Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ǧanūb Dārfūr; Janob Darfor) is one of the States of Sudan, wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states that compose the Darfur, region of Darfur in western Sudan. Overview Prior to the creation of t ...
capital of
Nyala The lowland nyala or simply nyala (''Tragelaphus angasii'') is a spiral-horned artiodactyl antelope native to Southern Africa. The species is part of the family Bovidae and the genus '' Tragelaphus'' (formerly placed in the genus ''Nyala''). It ...
were taken by the SLA. On 27 April, following weeks of fighting, a coalition that included SLA and JEM said that they had taken Um Rawaba in
North Kordofan North Kordofan () is one of the 18 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 185,302 km2 and an estimated population of 3,174,029 people (2018 est). El-Obeid is the capital of the state. North Kordofan is generally arid and desert. ...
, outside Darfur, and that they were headed for Khartoum to topple the president. The head of an SLA faction, Abdel Wahid Mohammed al-Nur, called it "a significant shift in the war". An estimated 300,000 were displaced by violence from January through May. In
North Darfur North Darfur State ( Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; ''Shamal Darfor'') is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km2 and an estimated population of approximat ...
, the Rezeigat tribe and the Beni Hussein group signed a peace deal during July after an eruption of violence between the two groups killed hundreds. Later in July, the
Misseriya The Messiria (), also known as Misseriya Arabs, are a branch of the Baggara ethnic grouping of Arab tribes.Adam, Biraima M. (2012)''Baggara of Sudan: Culture and Environment'' Amazon online Books. Their language is primarily Sudanese Arabic, wh ...
and Salamat Arab tribes announced a ceasefire after battles killed over 200 people. The UN security counsel also announced a review of its UNAMID mission. During the first week of August, the
Maalia The Maalia people are an ethnic minority in Sudan. They are a sub-tribe of the greater Baggara Tribes The population of this minority likely does not exceed 100,000. Most of them follow Islam as their religion. They speak Sudanese Arabic - a regi ...
claimed the Rezeigat had killed five members of their tribe in the southeastern region of Adila. They responded by seizing 400 Rizeigat cattle on 6 August. Community leaders intervened to prevent escalation. When the Maalia failed to return the cattle, violence broke out on 10 August. The Rezeigat attacked and reportedly destroyed a Maaliya compound. In the battle, 77 Maaliya and 36 Rezeigat were killed, and another 200 people were injured. Both sides said Land Cruisers were used in the battle. The Maaliya accused the Rezeigat of attacking and burning villages while employing "heavy weaponry". On 11 August, the fighting spread to several other areas in southeastern Darfur. The violence reportedly arose over a land dispute.


2014

On 19 March, peacekeepers said they had received recent reports of villages that were attacked and burned after the UN expressed concern over the increasing number of internally displaced persons. UNAMID said that the attacks were in Hashaba, about 100 kilometers north-west of the city
Al-Fashir Al-Fashir or El Fasher () is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a city in the Darfur region of southwestern Sudan, northeast of Nyala, Sudan. "Al-Fashir" (description) ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007, webpage: A historical ...
, the state capital of
North Darfur North Darfur State ( Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; ''Shamal Darfor'') is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km2 and an estimated population of approximat ...
. In November, local media reported that 200 women and girls had been raped by Sudanese soldiers in
Tabit Pi3 Orionis (π3 Orionis, abbreviated Pi3 Ori, π3 Ori), also named Tabit , is a star in the celestial equator, equatorial constellation of Orion (constellation), Orion. At an apparent visual magnitude of 3.16, it is Bortle Dark-Sky Sc ...
. Sudan denied this and did not permit the UN (who said their first inquiry was inconclusive "in part due to the heavy presence of military and police") to make another inquiry. An investigation by
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
(HRW) released in February said 221 people were raped by government soldiers in "a mass rape that could constitute crimes against humanity". Witnesses reported three separate operations were carried out in one and a half days. Property was looted, men arrested, residents beaten and women and girls raped. Most of the town's population are Fur people. It had been controlled by rebel forces previously but HRW found no evidence that the rebel fighters were in or close to the village when it was attacked. 3,300 villages were destroyed in 2014 in attacks on civilians according to the UN Panel of Experts. Government forces or those aligned with them were behind most attacks. There were more than 400,000 attacks during the first ten months of the year. The report said that it was "highly probable that civilian communities were targeted as a result of their actual or perceived affiliations with armed opposition groups" and that "such attacks were carried out with impunity".


2016

In September 2016, the Sudanese government reportedly launched
chemical weapon A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...
attacks on civilian populations in Darfur, killing at least 250 people; the majority of the victims were children. It is believed that the munitions contained
mustard gas Mustard gas or sulfur mustard are names commonly used for the organosulfur compound, organosulfur chemical compound bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide, which has the chemical structure S(CH2CH2Cl)2, as well as other Chemical species, species. In the wi ...
or other
blister agent A blister agent (or vesicant) is a chemical compound that causes severe skin, eye and mucosal pain and irritation in the form of severe chemical burns resulting in fluid filled blisters. Named for their ability to cause vesication, blister a ...
s.


2018

Reports from the
United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (known by its acronym UNAMID) was a joint African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission formally approved by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769 on 31 ...
(UNAMID) and the African Center for Justice and Peace Studies suggest that low-level violence continued in Darfur through early 2018, with Sudanese government forces attacking communities in the Jebel Marra area. As UNAMID forces began to be drawn down with an eye to exiting Darfur, there were competing views on the levels of unrest in the region: UN officials pointed to a significant reduction in the scale and distribution of violence in Darfur, while other NGOS such as
HRW Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including war crimes, crimes against ...
highlighted persistent pockets of unrest.


2019

The August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration, signed by military and civilian representatives during the 2018–19 Sudanese Revolution, requires that a peace agreement be made in Darfur and other regions of armed conflict in Sudan within the first six months of the 39-month transition period to democratic civilian government. In December 2019, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported that irrigation projects built around community-based
weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
s are enabling "green shoots of peace" to appear, helping to end this conflict. This project was conducted with funding from the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
and was overseen by the
United Nations Environmental Program The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...
.


2020

Janjaweed militia leader
Ali Kushayb Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (), commonly known as Ali Kushayb () (also: ''Koship'', ''Kosheib'', ''Kouchib'', ''Kosheb'', ''Koshib''), is a senior Janjaweed commander who supported the Sudanese government against Darfur rebel groups during th ...
was arrested in the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
on 9 June 2020, thirteen years after he was charged by the International Criminal Court with 51 crimes against humanity and war crimes. Three mass shootings took place in Darfur in July 2020. On 31 August 2020, a peace deal was signed in
Juba Juba is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria, Central Equatoria State. It is the most recently declared national capital and had a populatio ...
, South Sudan, between the
Transitional Sovereignty Council The Transitional Sovereignty Council () is the collective head of state of Sudan, formed on 21 August 2019, by the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration. The initial council was dissolved by its Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the ...
and several rebel groups, including the
Sudan Revolutionary Front The Sudan Revolutionary Front (), or the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), was an alliance between Sudanese factions that was created in opposition to the government of President Omar al-Bashir. It was declared on 12 November 2011, following sev ...
(SRF), the SLM/A, the JEM, the Transitional Revolutionary Council, and the
Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
(SPLM–N). Under the terms of the agreement, the factions that signed will be entitled to three seats on the sovereignty council, a total of five ministers in the transitional cabinet and a quarter of seats in the transitional legislature. At a regional level, signatories will be entitled between 30 and 40% of the seats on transitional legislatures of their home states or regions. Notably absent were rebel factions led by
Abdul Wahid al Nur Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; , ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, meaning "the"). It ...
and
Abdelaziz al-Hilu Abdelaziz Adam al-Hilu (; born 7 July 1954) is a Sudanese politician and the current leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (al-Hilu). Biography Al-Hilu was born in Al-Faydh Umm Abdullah, South Kordofan. He is considered one of t ...
who refused to be part of the agreement. On 3 October 2020, the SRF, the SPLM–N led by Malik Agar and the SLM led by Minni Minnawi signed another peace deal with the Sudanese government, with the absence of both al Nur and al-Hilu. However, the deal included terms to integrate rebels into the security forces, and to grant them political representation and economic and land rights, in addition to a 10-year plan to invest $750 million to develop southern and western regions, and to guarantee the return for displaced people. In December, Sudan started to deploy troops to
South Darfur South Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ǧanūb Dārfūr; Janob Darfor) is one of the States of Sudan, wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states that compose the Darfur, region of Darfur in western Sudan. Overview Prior to the creation of t ...
"in large numbers", following recent tribal violence between the Masalit and
Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Fula alpha ...
. UNAMID ended its mission on 31 December, with a complete withdrawal scheduled for 30 June. At the time the mission ended UNAMID had 4,000 troops, 1,631 police, 480 police advisers, 483 international civilian staff, and 945 national civilian staff in the region as of December 2020.


2021

On 16 January fighting between
Masalit people The Masalit ( Masalit: ''masala/masara''; ) are an ethnic group inhabiting western Sudan and eastern Chad. They speak the Masalit language. Overview The Masalit primarily live in Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, though a few thousand al ...
and Arab nomads in Al Geneina District,
West Darfur West Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ḡarb Dārfūr), historically Dar Masalit (), is one of the states of Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. Prior to the creation of two new states in January 2012, it had an area of 79,460 km² ...
, left 84 dead and 160 wounded. This was two weeks after the United Nations withdrew its peacekeepers from the region. Based on a statement from the Darfur Bar Association, the incident began when a member of an Arab tribe was stabbed by another member of the Masalit tribe. Following the unrest, a high profile delegation authorized by Sudanese Prime Minister
Abdalla Hamdok Abdalla Hamdok Al-Kinani (also transliterated ''Abdallah'', ''Hamdouk'', '' AlKinani''; ; born 1 January 1956) is a Sudanese public administrator who served as the 15th prime minister of Sudan from 2019 to October 2021, and again from November ...
was sent to the region in order to assess the situation. Ethnic clashes were also reported to have erupted in the eastern part of Sudan on 31 December 2020 and 1 January 2021 between the Beni Amer and
Nuba The Nuba people are indigenous inhabitants of southern Sudan. The Nuba are made up of 50 various indigenous ethnic groups who inhabit the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan, South Kordofan state in Sudan, encompassing multiple distinct people that ...
in
Port Sudan Port Sudan (, Beja: ) is a port city on the Red Sea in eastern Sudan, and the capital of Red Sea State. Port Sudan is Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% of the country's international trade. The population of Port Sudan was estimated in ...
. On 17 January, a curfew was put in place by the Sudanese authorities, including a state of emergency in West Darfur region. Clashes between the Arabs and non-Arabs in West Darfur began on January 15. By 18 January the death toll was reported to have reached at least 129 people, including women and children. The
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
has urged the Sudanese government to see to the de-escalation of the violence in West Darfur and safeguard civilian lives. On 20 January, the residence of the provincial Governor of West Darfur Mohammed Abdalla al-Douma, was under an attempted attack by unidentified gunmen. Security forces managed to repel the attack without any reports of casualties or destruction of properties. Meanwhile, reports from local media suggested that during the assassination attempt, several blasts were heard all over the state. On 24 January, the UN refugee agency revealed that at least 250 people have died since the initial outbreak of tribal clashes in January. Three humanitarian workers were among those who had been killed. Also, more than 100,000 people are believed to have been displaced, fleeing into neighboring
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
. On 28 March, Al-Hilu, leader of SPLA-North, signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government in Juba, South Sudan, which would guarantee freedom of religion in a civil, democratic Sudan that would also have a single unified army to protect national security. On 5 April, fresh tribal clashes erupted in
West Darfur West Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ḡarb Dārfūr), historically Dar Masalit (), is one of the states of Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. Prior to the creation of two new states in January 2012, it had an area of 79,460 km² ...
's
El Geneina Geneina (sometimes Al-Junaynah or ElGeneina; , lit. ''the little garden'') is a city in West Darfur, part of the dar Masalit region, in Sudan. It joined British Sudan at the end of 1919 through the Gilani Agreement, signed between the Masalit Su ...
, which led to the death of at least 40 people. During the three days of clashes, at least 58 people were also said to have been injured, according to the
VOA News Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internationa ...
. Later in the evening, Sudan's defense council declared a state of emergency and also deployed troops to the troubled region of West Darfur state. As of 6 April, the West Darfur State Doctors' Committee reported that the death toll had reached 50, with 132 others injured. According to the UN, reports suggest that there has been the destruction of humanitarian facilities, during the violence in the region. Also, the decision to declare a state of emergency in the region was applauded by the UN envoy for Sudan,
Volker Perthes Volker Perthes (, born 16 May 1958) is a German political scientist, academic and writer. Apart from his focus on research, writing and teaching about the Middle East, he was director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs ...
and he urged the government to ensure the protection of humanitarian organizations, so as to provide services to the victims of the violence. On 7 April, 37 more deaths were recorded by the Sudanese doctors' committee in West Darfur, increasing the total death toll to 87. On 8 April, the governor of the West Darfur, Mohamed Abdallah Douma stated in a news conference that at least 132 people had been killed during the days of unrest in the state. However, the Western Darfur State Doctors Committee has placed the death toll to be at least 125 during the sixth day of tribal clashes consecutively, with 208 others wounded. The UN has called on the authorities to ensure that citizens are protected and that an immediate investigation of the clashes is launched. They also maintained that all the perpetrators of the violence must be held responsible, in order to attain justice for those affected during the clashes, including immediate deployment of security forces to the region. On 12 April, following several days of violence in West Darfur that led to the deaths of at least 144 people, chairman of the ruling
Transitional Sovereignty Council The Transitional Sovereignty Council () is the collective head of state of Sudan, formed on 21 August 2019, by the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration. The initial council was dissolved by its Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the ...
,
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdelrahman al-Burhan (; born 11 July 1960) is a Sudanese army general who has been the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Sudan, leader of Sudan since 2019. Following the Sudanese revolution, Sudanese Revolution in Ap ...
, along with high-ranking security and military officials, visited
Geneina Geneina (sometimes Al-Junaynah or ElGeneina; , lit. ''the little garden'') is a city in West Darfur, part of the dar Masalit region, in Sudan. It joined British Sudan at the end of 1919 through the Gilani Agreement, signed between the Masalit ...
, capital of West Darfur, where they held separate talks with the Arab Rizeigat and the non-Arab Masalit tribes. After the visit, the Dar Masalit Displaced People expressed their refusal to accept the result of the mediation headed by al-Burhan. They blamed the paramilitary
Rapid Support Forces The Rapid Support Forces (RSF; ) is a paramilitary force formerly operated by the government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government. RSF ...
for the unrest in the region. On 14 April, a statement released by the UN refugee agency confirmed that the violence in Geneina had stopped, based on reports which suggested that there haven't been any shootings for the past four days. The tribal clashes led to at least 1,860 people to flee into neighboring
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
, most of whom are believed to be women, children, and the elderly. Babar Baloch, a spokesman for the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...
(UNHCR) maintained that the refugees arriving revealed that their homes and properties were being destroyed. On 28 April Sudanese security forces attempted to forcefully disperse a sit-in protest in Bielel, South Darfur. One woman was said to have been killed while at least eight others were wounded. Tear gas was said to have been used to disperse the crowd by a joint force from both the army and the police, including the firing of live rounds. Meanwhile, at the secretariat of the state government in
Nyala The lowland nyala or simply nyala (''Tragelaphus angasii'') is a spiral-horned artiodactyl antelope native to Southern Africa. The species is part of the family Bovidae and the genus '' Tragelaphus'' (formerly placed in the genus ''Nyala''). It ...
, protesters gathered in front of the building to protest against an attack on their village – Gassat Enjemet – which left three people dead and others wounded. On 5 May, thousands of displaced people that were affected by the clashes in Geneina, requested to go back to their homes. They made the request due to the poor living conditions in their shelters. On 29 May, a group of armed men reportedly opened fire in a market in West Darfur's
Foro Baranga Foro Baranga or Forbrenga () is a town located in West Darfur, Sudan. History The villagers from 20 villages near Foro Baranga town held a demonstration in front of the city council on 14 August 2011 over the lack of availability of the new cur ...
. As a result of the shooting, one person was said to have been killed, leaving five others seriously wounded. Protests erupted following the attack, with protesters setting many shops on fire and blocking all main roads leading to the town. According to Al Jazeera, some people threatened the doctors at the hospital to attend to their wounded patients and leave other patients. On 5 June, clashes between the Arab Taisha and ethnic African Fallata tribes in
Um Dafuq Um Dafuq (), also spelled Um Dafouk, Um Dafok, Um Dafog, is a town located across the Central African Republic–Sudan border in South Darfur. The town holds economic and commercial importance. It is the birthplace of Abdallahi ibn Muhammad. Hist ...
, South Darfur killed at least 36 people, with 37 others wounded. An aid worker who spoke anonymously revealed that the clash erupted as a result of a land dispute between the two conflicting parties. Subsequently, a certain state of calm was said to have been attained, following the deployment of more troops to Um Dafuk.


Janjaweed's participation

The well-armed Janjaweed quickly gained an advantage over rebel factions. By the spring of 2004, several thousand people – mostly from the non-Arab population – had been killed and as many as a million more had been driven from their homes, causing a major humanitarian crisis. The crisis took on an international dimension when over 100,000 refugees poured into neighboring
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
, pursued by militiamen who clashed with Chadian government forces along the border. More than 70 militiamen and 10 Chadian soldiers were killed in one gun battle in April. A United Nations observer team reported that non-Arab villages were singled out, while Arab villages were left untouched:
The 23 Fur villages in the Shattaya Administrative Unit have been completely depopulated, looted and burnt to the ground (the team observed several such sites driving through the area for two days). Meanwhile, dotted alongside these charred locations are unharmed, populated and functioning Arab settlements. In some locations, the distance between a destroyed Fur village and an Arab village is less than 500 meters.
A 2011 study examined 1,000 interviews with black African participants who fled from 22 village clusters to various refugee camps in 2003 and 2004. The study found: 1) the frequency of hearing racial epithets during an attack was 70% higher when it was led by the Janjaweed alone compared to official police forces; it was 80% higher when the Janjaweed and the Sudanese Government attacked together; 2) the risk of displacement was nearly 110% higher during a joint attack compared to when the police or Janjaweed acted alone, and 85% higher when Janjaweed forces attacked alone compared to when the attack was only perpetrated by government forces; 3) attacks on food and water supplies made it 129% more likely for inhabitants to be displaced compared to attacks that involved house burnings or killings; 4) perpetrators knew and took "special advantage" of the susceptibility of Darfur residents to attacks focused on basic resources. This vulnerability came against the backdrop of increased regional desertification.


Rape of women and young girls

Immediately after the Janjaweed entered the conflict, the rape of women and young girls, often by multiple militiamen and often throughout entire nights, began to be reported at a staggering rate. Children as young as 2 years old were reported victims, while mothers were assaulted in front of their children. Young women were attacked so violently that they were unable to walk following the attack. Non-Arab people were reportedly raped by Janjaweed militiamen as a result of the Sudanese government's goal of completely eliminating the presence of black Africans and non-Arabs from Darfur. The Washington Post Foreign Service interviewed verified victims of the rapes and recorded that Arabic terms such as "abid" and "zurga" were used, which mean slave and black. One victim, Sawelah Suliman, was told by her assailant, "Black girl, you are too dark. You are like a dog. We want to make a light baby." In an 88-page report, victims from Darfur have also accused the Rapid Support Forces of rape and assault as recently as 2015.


Mortality estimates

Multiple casualty estimates have been published since the war began, ranging from roughly 10,000 civilians (Sudanese government estimate) to hundreds of thousands. In September 2004, 18 months after the conflict began, the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
estimated that there had been 50,000 deaths in Darfur, mostly due to
starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, de ...
. An updated estimate published the following month put the number of deaths for the 6-month period from March to October 2004 due to starvation and disease at 70,000; These figures were criticized because they only considered short periods and did not include deaths from violence. A more recent British Parliamentary Report estimated that over 300,000 people had died and others have published even higher death toll estimates. In March 2005, the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator
Jan Egeland Jan Egeland (born 12 September 1957) is a Norwegian diplomat, political scientist, humanitarian leader, and former Labour Party politician who has been Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council since 2013. He served as State Secretary ...
estimated that 10,000 people were dying each month, excluding deaths due to ethnic violence. An estimated 2.7 million people had at that time been displaced from their homes, mostly seeking refuge in camps in Darfur's major towns. Two hundred thousand had fled to neighboring Chad. Reports of violent deaths compiled by the UN indicate between 6,000 and 7,000 fatalities from 2004 to 2007. In May 2005, the
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) is a research unit of the University of Louvain (UCLouvain). It is part of the School of Public Health located on the UCLouvain Brussels Woluwe campus, in Brussels, Belgium. CRED has ...
(CRED) of the School of Public Health of the
Université catholique de Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...
in Brussels, Belgium published an analysis of mortality in Darfur. Their estimate stated that from September 2003 to January 2005, between 98,000 and 181,000 persons died in Darfur, including 63,000 to 146,000 excess deaths. In August 2010, Eric Reeves argued that total mortality from all violent causes, direct and indirect, at that point in the conflict, exceeded 500,000. His analysis took account of all previous mortality data and studies, including that by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disaster.Quantifying Genocide in Darfur
Eric Reeves Eric Reeves (born 1950) is an American academic who is professor emeritus of English language and literature at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Reeves has carried out research into the politics and human rights situation in Sudan. ...
, 28 April 2006
The UN disclosed on 22 April 2008 that it might have underestimated the Darfur death toll by nearly 50%. In July 2009, ''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...
'' published an op-ed stating that many of the published mortality rates have been misleading because they include a large number of people who had died of disease and malnutrition, as well as those who died from direct violence.The Genocide in Darfur is not what it seems
Marc Gustafson, 19 August 2009
In January 2010, the
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) is a research unit of the University of Louvain (UCLouvain). It is part of the School of Public Health located on the UCLouvain Brussels Woluwe campus, in Brussels, Belgium. CRED has ...
published an article in a special issue of ''
The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...
''. The article, entitled "Patterns of mortality rates in Darfur conflict", estimated with 95% confidence that the excess number of deaths is between 178,258 and 461,520 (with a mean of 298,271), with 80% of these due to disease.


International response

International attention to the Darfur genocide largely began with reports by
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
in July 2003 and the
International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a global non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, conducting research and analysis on global crises. ...
in December 2003. However, widespread media coverage did not start until the outgoing United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Mukesh Kapila, called Darfur the "world's greatest humanitarian crisis" in March 2004.Prunier, pp. 124–148 Organizations such as STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, later under the umbrella of Genocide Intervention Network, and the
Save Darfur Coalition The Save Darfur Coalition was an advocacy group that attempted "to raise public awareness and mobilize a massive response to the atrocities in Sudan's western region of Darfur." The headquarters was located in Washington, D.C. It was a coalition ...
emerged and became particularly active in the areas of engaging the United States Congress and President on the issue and pushing for divestment, initially launched by Adam Sterling under the auspices of the Sudan Divestment Task Force. In May 2009 the Mandate Darfur was canceled because the "Sudanese government is obstructing the safe passage of Darfurian delegates from Sudan." The Mandate was a conference that would have brought together 300 representatives from different regions of Darfur's civil society. The conference planned was to be held in Addis Ababa sometime in early May.


International Criminal Court

In March 2005, the UN Security Council formally referred the situation in Darfur to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, taking into account the report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1564 of 2004, but without mentioning specific crimes. Two permanent members of the Security Council, the United States and China, abstained from the vote on the referral resolution. In April 2007, the Judges of the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
issued arrest warrants against the former Minister of State for the Interior, Ahmed Haroun, and a Janjaweed leader,
Ali Kushayb Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (), commonly known as Ali Kushayb () (also: ''Koship'', ''Kosheib'', ''Kouchib'', ''Kosheb'', ''Koshib''), is a senior Janjaweed commander who supported the Sudanese government against Darfur rebel groups during th ...
, for
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
and war crimes. The Sudan Government said that the ICC had no jurisdiction to try Sudanese citizens and that it would not surrender the two men. On 14 July 2008, the Prosecutor filed ten charges of war crimes against Sudan's incumbent President
Omar al-Bashir Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (born 1 January 1944) is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Head of state of Sudan, Sudan's head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in 2019 Sudanese c ...
, including three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. The Prosecutor claimed that Mr. al-Bashir "masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part" three tribal groups in Darfur because of their ethnicity. Leaders from three Darfur tribes sued ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo for libel, defamation, and igniting hatred and tribalism. After an arrest warrant was issued for the Sudanese president in March 2009, the Prosecutor appealed to add genocide charges. However, the Pre-Trial Chamber found that there was no reasonable ground to support the contention that he had a specific intent to commit genocide (''dolus specialis''), which is an intention to destroy, in whole or in part, a protected group. The definition adopted by the Pre-Trial Chamber is the definition of the Genocide Convention, the Rome Statute, and some ICTY cases. On 3 February 2010 the Appeals Chamber of the ICC found that the Pre-Trial Chamber had applied "an erroneous standard of proof when evaluating the evidence submitted by the Prosecutor" and that the Prosecutor's application for a warrant of arrest on the genocide charges should be sent back to the Pre-Trial Chamber to review based on the correct legal standard. In July 2010, al-Bashir was charged with three counts of genocide in Darfur by the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
for orchestrating the Darfur genocide. Al-Bashir was the first incumbent head of state charged with crimes under the Rome Statute. He rejected the charges and said, "Whoever has visited Darfur, met officials and discovered their ethnicities and tribes ... will know that all of these things are lies." It is expected that al-Bashir will not face trial in The Hague until he is apprehended in a nation which accepts ICC jurisdiction, as Sudan is not a party to the Rome Statute, which it signed but did not ratify. Payam Akhavan, a professor of international law at McGill University in Montreal and a former war crimes prosecutor, says although he may not go to trial, "He will effectively be in prison within the Sudan itself...Al-Bashir now is not going to be able to leave the Sudan without facing arrest." The Prosecutor warned that authorities could arrest the President if he enters international airspace. The Sudanese government has announced that the Presidential plane would be accompanied by jet fighters. However, the
Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...
announced solidarity with al-Bashir. Since the warrant, he has visited Qatar and Egypt. The
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
also condemned the charges.


Foreign governments which supported the Sudanese government

Al-Bashir requested assistance from non-western countries after the West, led by America, imposed sanctions on his government . He said, "From the first day, our policy was clear: To look eastward, toward China, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, and even Korea and Japan, even if the Western influence upon some [of these] countries is strong. We believe that the Chinese expansion was natural because it filled the space left by Western governments, the United States, and international funding agencies. The success of the Sudanese experiment in dealing with China without political conditions or pressures encouraged other African countries to look toward China." In 2007,
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
issued a report accusing China and Russia of supplying arms, ammunition and related equipment to Sudan, some of which the government may have transferred to Darfur in violation of a UN arms embargo. The report claims that Sudan imported 10–20 combat aircraft from China in the early-mid-2000s, including three Nanchang Q-5, A-5 Fantan fighters that have been sighted in Darfur. The report provides evidence that the Sudan Air Force conducted indiscriminate aerial bombings of villages in Darfur and eastern Chad using ground attack fighters and repurposed Antonov transport planes. However, it does not specify whether the ground attack fighters in question are those purchased from China in the early-mid-2000s, and the Antonovs' origin remains unclear. The report also lists seven Soviet- or Russian-made Mi-24 Hind gunships that had been deployed to Darfur, though without specifying which country sold them to Sudan, or when. While noting that Russia sold arms worth tens of millions of dollars to Sudan in 2005 alone, the report does not specifically identify any weapons sold to Sudan by Russia after the outbreak of the Darfur conflict or after the imposition of the UNSC ban on arms transfers to Darfur, and it does not provide any evidence that any such weapons were deployed to Darfur. The NGO Human Rights First claimed that over 90% of the light weapons currently being imported by Sudan and used in the conflict are from China. Human rights advocates and opponents of the Sudanese government portray China's role in providing weapons and aircraft as a cynical attempt to obtain oil, just as colonial powers once supplied African chieftains with the military means to maintain control as they extracted natural resources.
According to China's critics, China threatened to use its veto on the U.N. Security Council to protect Khartoum from sanctions and was able to water down every resolution on Darfur in order to protect its interests. Accusations of the supply of weapons from China, which were then transferred to Darfur by the Sudanese government in violation of the UN arms embargo, continued in 2010. Sarah Wykes, a senior campaigner at Global Witness, an NGO that campaigns for better natural resource governance, says: "Sudan has purchased about $100m in arms from China and has used these weapons against civilians in Darfur." According to the report Following the Thread: Arms and Ammunition Tracing in Sudan and South Sudan, released in May 2014 by the Swiss research group Small Arms Survey, "Over the period 2001–12, Khartoum's reports to UN Comtrade reveal significant fluctuation in annual conventional arms imports. The majority of the Sudanese government's total self-reported imports of small arms and light weapons, their ammunition, and 'conventional weapons' over the period originated in China (58 per cent), followed by Iran (13 per cent), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (9 per cent), and Ukraine (8 per cent)." The report found that Chinese weapons were pervasive among most parties to the Sudanese conflicts, including the war in Darfur, but identified few if any weapons of Russian origin. (The section "Chinese weapons and ammunition" receives 20 pages in the report, whereas the only mention of Russian arms is to be found in the sentence "the majority of...mines [in South Sudan] have been of Chinese and Soviet/Russian origin."). China and Russia denied the accusation by stating that they had not broken any UN sanctions. China has a close relationship with Sudan and increased its military co-operation with the government in early 2007. Because of Sudan's plentiful supply of oil, China considers good relations with Sudan to be a strategic necessity. China has direct commercial interests in Sudan's oil. China's state-owned company CNPC controls between 60 and 70 percent of Sudan's total oil production. Additionally, it owns the largest single share (40 percent) of Sudan's national oil company, Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company. China consistently opposed economic and non-military sanctions on Sudan. In March 2007, threats to boycott the 2008 Summer Olympics, Olympic games were made by French presidential candidate François Bayrou, in an effort to stop China's support. Sudan divestment efforts concentrated on PetroChina, the national petroleum company with extensive investments in Sudan.


Criticism of the international response

Gérard Prunier, a scholar specializing in African conflicts, argued that the world's most powerful countries have limited themselves to expressing concern and demand for the United Nations to take action. The UN, lacking initiative and will, initially left the African Union to deploy a token force without a mandate to protect civilians. On 16 October 2006, Minority Rights Group International, Minority Rights Group (MRG) published a critical report, challenging that the UN and the great powers could have prevented the crisis and that few lessons appeared to have been drawn from the
Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...
. MRG's executive director, Mark Lattimer, stated that: "this level of crisis, the killings, rape and displacement could have been foreseen and avoided ... Darfur would just not be in this situation had the UN systems got its act together after Rwanda: their action was too little too late." On 20 October 120 genocide survivors of The Holocaust, and the Khmer Rouge period (1975–1979), Cambodian and Rwandan genocides, backed by six aid agencies, submitted an open letter to the European Union, calling on them to do more, proposing a UN peacekeeping force as "the only viable option".


Coverage by the media

''Watchers of the Sky'', a 2014 documentary by Edet Belzberg, interviews former journalist and United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power about the war in Darfur. Also featured is Luis Moreno Ocampo, former International Criminal Court, ICC jurist and lead prosecutor on the International Criminal Court investigation in Darfur, ICC investigation in Darfur. The Brutality of the militias, the violence which was used by the armed forces, the corruption and the human rights abuses were also shown on ER (TV series), ''ER'' television series (e.g. episodes 12x19, 12x20), as well as in the 2007 documentaries ''They Turned Our Desert Into Fire'' and ''The Devil Came on Horseback''.


See also

*
Banu Hilal The Banu Hilal () was a confederation of Arab tribes from the Najd region of the central Arabian Peninsula that emigrated to the Maghreb region of North Africa in the 11th century. They ruled the Najd, and campaigned in the borderlands between I ...
* Bibliography of the Darfur conflict * Breidjing Camp * Chadian Civil War (2005–10) * Command responsibility *
Darfur genocide The Darfur genocide was the systematic killing of ethnic Darfuri people during the War in Darfur. The genocide, which was carried out against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, led the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict sev ...
* First Sudanese Civil War * History of Darfur * History of Sudan * Human rights in Sudan * Genocides in history * Genocide of indigenous peoples * List of civil wars * List of conflicts in Africa * List of ethnic cleansing campaigns * List of famines * List of ongoing armed conflicts * List of wars 2003–present * Lost Boys of Sudan *
Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...
* Slavery in Sudan * Team Darfur


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * *


External links

*
Photographer's Account – "The Cost of Silence: A Traveling Exhibition"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darfur War 2000s conflicts 2000s in Sudan 2010s conflicts 2010s in Sudan War in Darfur, Civil wars in Sudan, Darfur Civil wars of the 21st century Ethnicity-based civil wars Responsibility to protect Proxy wars Genocides in Africa