Sudan
Index of Individuals, Institutions and Organizations Related to the Crisis in Darfur, Sudan
Abdel Rahman Mohamadain – Traditional leader of the Zaghawa who was killed in April 2004 while leading a humanitarian convoy. The Khartoum government has accused the SLA of the attack, while the SLA have maintained that the Janjawid militias were responsible.
Abdel Wahid – Chairman of the SLA.
African Union (AU) – Worked with the Government of Chad to mediate the ceasefire between the Khartoum government and the JEM and SLA.
Al-Tayeb Abdel Rahman Mustafa – Uncle of el-Bashir who established the “Forum for Just Peace” in April 2004, a northern secessionist group.
Ali Osman Taha – Vice President of Sudan and chief negotiator for the Khartoum government at the Naivasha peace process.
Ceasefire Commission – To be established by the African Union as part of the ceasefire agreement. Tasked with disarming the Janjawid (although no coherent plan to do so has been developed) and monitoring the ceasefire for violations.
Darfur – An area approximately the size of France in western Sudan comprised of 3 ethnic zones, which are split into states. North Darfur includes Arab and non-Arab, mainly Zaghawa, camel nomads. Largely non-Arab sedentary farmers such as the Fur, Masalit and others, cultivating millet, inhabit Western Darfur. Southern Darfur includes Arabic-speaking cattle nomads, the Baqqara.
Ghazi Salah al-Din Atabani – Challenged Taha for leadership in the secretive “Islamist Movement” that forms the core of the ruling establishment. Represents an increasingly critical group within the Islamist Movement that no longer feels represented by the inner circle.
Hassan al-Turabi – Leader of the Popular Congress (PC). Detained in March 2004 along with six top officials of PC and accused of inciting regionalism and tribalism in Darfur. The PC denied everything and charged that the coup allegation was a pretext to repress it and justify “a crushing military campaign against the people of Darfur.”
Hassan Khames Juru – Self-proclaimed political coordinator for JEM who announced the dismissal of several high-ranking JEM officials during the negotiations. This statement was quickly denounced by the JEM and Juru labeled as representing only himself during the negotiations.
Idriss Deby – President of Chad. Accused of acting in Khartoum’s interest in negotiating the ceasefire between Khartoum and the SLA and JEM. The government of Chad also denied the visas of members of the SLA delegation, including those of exiled Fur and Massaleit leaders.
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) – Facilitator of the peace agreement between the Kharotum government and the SPLA
Janjawid (also Janjaweed) - Arab tribal militias, referred to as Murahilin in the 1980s and 1990s, complicit in recent attacks on non-Arab farming communities throughout the Darfur region. Following several rebel victories in 2003, the government turned the Janjawid loose on the civilian population thought to be supportive of the rebels, backed by its regular forces.
John Garang – Chairman of the SPLA.
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) – Rebel group loosely allied with SLA began attacking government military instillations in early 2003.
- Both rebel groups expressed dissatifcation early on with Chad’s role as a mediator in the cease fire agreement as they felt that Chad was too friendly with the Khartoum government and thus not a neutral party.
- The SLA and the JEM participated in the talks as a single delegation.
Khalil Ibrahim – Chairman of the JEM.
Minni Arkou Minawi – Military coordinator for SLA.
Mustafa Osman Ismail – Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs. Announced in May 2004 that the government was removoing the need for aid workers to obtain special permits to enter Darfur and said that embassies would begin issuing regular visas to them within 48 hours.
Omar el-Bashir – President of the Government of Sudan since 1989.
Sadiq al-Mahdi – Prime Minister of Sudan in the 1980s (ousted by Omar el-Bashir in a 1989 coup) who was the first to give arms to the Arabic speaking cattle nomads, the Baqqara, of southern Darfur, ostensibly to defend themselves against the SPLA.
Sharif Harir – Exiled political activist who acted as coordinator for the SLA team during the cease fire negotiations. His presence contributed to some tensions within the SLA during the negotiations as he was seen as sidelining the SLA chairman.
Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) – Rebel group loosely allied with JEM began attacking government military instillations in early 2003.
Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) – Southern Sudanese rebel group, which recently signed an agreement with the Khartoum government to end the continent’s longest running civil war. In the late 1990s, the SPLA tried to open a front in southern Sudan, which exacerbated the situation between the Arab and non-Arab population of the region.
World Food Programme (WFP) – On May 12, the driver of a UN truck clearly marked WFP was assaulted by members of the Janjawid. James Morris, executive director of WFP, has stated that “In all my travels as the head of WFP, I have never seen people who are as frightened as those displaced in Darfur.”
