Crisis in Darfur


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Crisis in Darfur
modern day genocide
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Now Called the Darfur Genocide by the United
States

• military conflict in the Darfur region of western
  Sudan

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What is Darfur

• Region is an area about the size of Texas
• It lies in western Sudan and borders Libya Chad
  and the Central African Republic
• It has only the most basic infrastructure and
  development. The approximately 6 million
  inhabitants of Darfur are among the poorest in
  Africa

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Brief History of Darfur

• Technically a British Colony but ruled by Egypt
  (another British Colony)
• Remained largely underdeveloped during
  colonization even up to independence in 1956
• Most resources were routed to Arab populations
  near the Nile which caused an inequality between
  different tribes

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The Primary Actors

• Current lines of conflict are seen to be ethnic
  and tribal rather than religiousunlike the
  Second Sudanese War
• One side of the armed conflict is composed mainly
  of the Sudanese Military and the Janjaweed (a
  militia group)
• Recruited from the Arab Baggara tribes. These are
  camel-herding nomads
• The other side of the conflict is consisted of a
  number of rebel groups Sudan Liberation
  Movement Justice and Equality Movement
• Recruited from the land-tilling non-Arab Black
  African Muslims (Fur Zaghawa and Massaleit
  ethnic groups)

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Arab vs. African

• Both True and False
• Political tensions in 1968 brought to light
  differing economic activities and
  ethnicitiespoliticians used these differences to
  gain votes in different areas

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Background

• Rooted in structural inequality between the
  center of the country around the Nile and the
  peripheral areas
• Decades of drought desertification and
  overpopulation
• Nomadic tribes are moving further south into
  lands occupied by non-Arab tribes
• UN Secretary General even points to Global
  Warming as a cause

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Conflict Begins February 2003

• Rebel groups (JEM and SLA) accuse
• the Arab-dominated Sudanese
• government of oppressing non-
• Arabs in favor of Arabs
• Government was also accused
• of neglecting the Darfur region
• of Sudan
• Rebel groups mount an insurgency
• against the Sudanese government

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Government Response to Claims

• Although they deny they support the Janjaweed
• Aerial bombardment supporting ground attacks by
  the Janjaweed
• accused of committing major human rights
  violations
• mass killing
• Looting
• Systematic rape
• They have frequently burned down whole villages
  driving the surviving inhabitants to flee to
  refugee camps

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Janjaweed

• wiped out entire villages
• destroyed food and water supplies
• systematically murdered tortured and raped
  hundreds of thousands

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Scorched Earth PolicyJust reinstated this month

• through direct violence disease and starvation
  already claimed as many as 400000 lives
• 2.3 million Darfuris have fled their homes and
  communities and now reside in a network of
  internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in
  Darfur
• 200000 more live in refugee camps in Chad
• These refugees and IDPs are almost entirely
  dependent on the United Nations and other
  humanitarian organizations for their basic needs
  food water shelter and health care.

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Other Atrocities

• Sudanese military paints many of its attack
  aircraft white the same color as U.N.
  humanitarian aircraft a violation of
  international humanitarian law.
• When a plane approaches villagers do not know
  whether it is on a mission to help them or to
  bomb them
• The government and Janjaweed have also bulldozed
  refugee camps to move the displaced persons out

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UN Response

• On 9/18/2004 the UN Security Council called for a
  Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to assess the
  conflict
• The UN report released on 1/31/2005 stated that
  while there were mass murders and rapes they
  could not label it as genocide because genocidal
  intent appears to be missing
• Several steps have been taken but all of these
  have been frustrated by the government of Sudan
  and with the support of a number of other
  governments including Egypt and Algeria
• Currently have 7400 peacekeeping troops there
• Just allowed to monitor

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Results of Genocide (as it is now recognized)

• The human suffering in Darfur continues despite
  the fact that the United States Congress
  President Bush and two U.S. Secretaries of
  State have all labeled the conflict in Darfur
  genocide the first time in U.S. history that a
  conflict has been labeled as such while it was
  ongoing.
• U.N. officials say that the death rate in Darfur
  could rise as high as 100000 people per month if
  the fragile humanitarian life-support system
  collapses

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What Is To Be Done

• Peace agreements signed in 2005 2007 and 2008
  all failed
• Cease Fire
• China must use its pressure
• Boycott of Olympics in China
• Foreign countries must make Darfur a priority
• Continued Humanitarian Aid

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Google Earth Crisis in Darfur