Sudan
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Background to the Conflict in Darfur, Sudan
Over 70,000 people are estimated to have died in Darfur, western Sudan since the conflict erupted in February 2003. More than 1.5 million people have been driven from their homes and 200,000 have sought refuge in neighboring Chad. Another 800,000 people are said to be beyond the reach of humanitarian agencies.
Framing the Darfur Conflict: Sudan’s Civil War
Since its independence from Britain in 1956, Sudan has been embroiled in a vicious civil war in which the central government in the North has been fighting rebels from the South over political autonomy and economic power. With the imposition of Sharia law in 1983, and the establishment of the military government in 1989, the conflict took on religious and ethnic dimensions, as the government set out to reshape social institutions in line with its interpretation of Islam. Since then, the war has claimed more than 2 million lives and has also displaced over 4 million people, 20% of the total worldwide. Over the last year, the warring parties – the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) – have participated in peace talks aimed at ending the war, which finally concluded in the signing of a power-sharing agreement on May 26, 2004. Just as peace is at hand for one part of the country, the same human rights abuses that characterized the larger conflict have erupted and plunged the people of Darfur into a nightmare that has been largely overlooked by policy makers anxious for a peace agreement.
History of the Conflict in Darfur
The largest region in Sudan, Darfur is home to some 36 ethnic tribes, composed of two major blocks – Arabs and non-Arabs – the latter known as “blacks”. The Fur and the Masalit ethnic groups, who dominate the African population in Darfur, have a long history of clashes over land with Arab camel- and cattle-herding tribes. Initially, such hostilities were monitored through negotiation between community leaders. In the 1970s, however, competition over fertile land and dwindling resources intensified dramatically due to the desertification of the region and the lack of good governance. Traditional conflict resolution mechanisms were soon replaced with bloody and politicized clashes and ethnicity soon became a major mobilizing factor.
Rivals began identifying themselves as “Arabs” and “non-Arabs” for the first time during the 1987-1989 Fur-Arab conflict, when nomads of Arab origin and Fur clashed over grazing lands and water resources. During this time, some 27 Arab tribes grouped themselves under the previously unknown Arab Gathering. Reports at that time already refer to the nomad militia Janjawid (armed men on horses), which was known for attacking Fur as well as other non-Arab tribes. An estimated 2,500 Fur lost their lives and 400 villages were burned, causing tens of thousands to flee their land in search for safety.
A 1994 administrative reorganization by the government of President Omar El Bashir equipped members of the Arab tribes with new power, and was perceived by the African Masalit, Fur and Zaghawa as an attempt to debilitate their traditional leadership role and authority in the region. The decision lead to the resurgence of fighting, culminating in the 1996-1998 Masalit-Arab conflict, where the torching of Masalit villages instigated the flow of 100, 000 refugees into Chad. The fighting received little international attention.
Recent Developments
In February 2003, a new armed opposition group called the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) emerged in Darfur and began attacking government troops. The SLM/A declared that attacks were in protest of the failure of the government to protect villagers from attacks by nomadic groups and the economic marginalization of the region. Another armed opposition group called the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) soon emerged with demands similar to the SLM/A’s. The government chose to resolve the conflict by using force in March 2003. Since then, the fighting has continued.
Comprising the majority of casualties, civilians are at the heart of the Darfur war. Human rights violations have been perpetuated by the Sudanese government’s blatant policy of indiscriminate bombing and other aerial attacks against clearly civilian targets and its failure to hold its own soldiers and government-supported militias accountable. Members of the government’s proxy militia, the Janjawid, have been responsible for killing, torture, arbitrary arrest, detention, the torching of homes and entire villages, and the theft and deliberate destruction of crops and cattle.
On April 8, 2004, the government of Sudan and the armed political groups - the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) - signed a ceasefire agreement, under which both sides agreed to refrain from military action and to ensure access to humanitarian assistance. The agreement was due to run for 45 days and was subsequently extended on May 24. The ceasefire, however, has been largely disregarded. Within Darfur, observers suggest that almost every village in the conflict region has now been burnt and depopulated. In much of Darfur, the Janjawid are now occupying the rural areas; they have set up bases in some of the burnt-out villages, are harassing internally displaced people (IDPs) on the edges of towns, and have raped women who venture out to collect water outside the camps. The deteriorating humanitarian situation in Darfur is being compounded by the administrative delays imposed by the Sudanese authorities on international humanitarian organizations and the ensuing logistic difficulties caused by the rainy season.
On July 7th 2004, the United Nations Security Council adoptedResolution 1556, requesting that the Sudanese Government file a report on any progress made in Darfur in 30 days and on a monthly basis thereafter. The resolution specifically required the government to disarm the Janjawid and apprehend and bring to justice the perpetrators responsible for committing the recurrent atrocities. It further dictated that the Sudanese government facilitate all humanitarian efforts to help resolve the crisis, pursue an independent inquiry on human rights violations, ascertain a credible report on any safety measures that need to be taken, and recommence political discussions with dissenter groups from Darfur, expressly the JEM and the SLM/A.
See also: Index of Individuals, Institutions and Organizations Related to the Crisis in Darfur, Sudan
