WHAT IS THE STORY OF THE DARFUR GENOCIDE?

Published by: Kerti Sharma In Africa, Sudan is one of the largest countries located in northeastern direction. It has Red sea around it and is surrounded by Egypt, Chad, Uganda, and six other countries. In northeastern part of the country, its capital Khartoum is situated. And in western Sudan Dafur can be loacated with estimated population of 7 million people.

History of Sudan (North Sudan and South Sudan)

The name Sudan is derived from the Arabic expression bilād al-sūdān (“land of the blacks”). Ancient times Kingdom of Nubia is currently Sudan which after 2600 came under Egyptian rule. Until 350 A.D. an Egyptian and Nubian civilization called Kush prospered. In 6th century, the region was converted to Christianity by the Missionaries, but an invasion of Muslim Arabs, who had already dominated Egypt, eventually controlled the area and restored Islam. Between 1898 and 1955, it was being called the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan as Egyptians again conquered Sudan in 1874, and after Britain occupied Egypt in 1882, it took over Sudan in 1898, ruling the country in conjunction with Egypt.

Finally Sudan got independence on Jan 1, 1956 when in 1953 Egypt and Britain granted Sudan self-government. Since then Sudan is ruled by various forms of government including unstable parliamentary governments and military regimes.

In 1983, Under Maj. Gen. Gaafar Mohamed Nimeiri, Sudan instituted fundamentalist Islamic law. This aggravated the rift between the Arab north, the seat of the government, and the black African animists and Christians in the south. Differences in language, religion, ethnicity, and political power erupted in an unending civil war between government forces, strongly influenced by the National Islamic Front (NIF) and the southern rebels, whose most influential faction is the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). Increase in cases of Human rights violations, religious persecution, and isolation of Sudan from international community on the presumption that it gives shelter to terrorists lead to sanctions by United Nations In 1995[1].

Further, in the On Aug. 20, 1998, a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Khartoum was destroyed by the United States cruise missiles alleging that chemical weapons were produced and it was financed by the Islamic militant Osama bin Laden. These sanctions were after six years in 2001 but U.S. still officially considers Sudan a terrorist state.

After 27 years, finally now U.S. delists Sudan from the American State Sponsor of Terrorism list in the year 2020.[2]

Janjaweed : The rebels

The armed groups of the Arabs of Darfur and Kordofan in western Sudan are referred as Janjaweed. They name themselves as fursan (horsemen).In mid-1980s when Dafur faced combination of factors mentioned below lead to the formation of the militia group named Janjaweed:

a) Chadian rebels and Libyan military activities, and

b) Increased migrant flows from Chad,

c) Mishandling of a severe drought in the Sahelia, and a subsequent famine,

d) Persistent neglect and marginalisation by Khartoum,

e) The outbreak of civil war between the north and south of Sudan,

f) The weakening of indigenous dispute solving mechanism.[3]

The collapse of law and order was witnessed by the population due the said events. Darfurians began to arm themselves. Several Arabs and non-Arab groups formed their own militias as self-defense.[4]

Janjaweed were funded by the government, politicians and military officers. The politicians and military officers played a significant role in the recruitment, organisation, equipping and training of the Janjaweed. And they along with army organized various military operations. For example, during Janjaweed attacks in Darfur the National Armed Forces provided air as well as ground support.

When the Rapid Support Forces were created, which was formed out of Janjaweed, were formally recognised as part of the national regular forces. This has meant that it’s been well-supplied and well-equipped – much more so than in the early 2000s.[5]

Sudan Liberation Army And Justice And Equality Movement: Rebel Groups.

a)The Justice and equality movement

The JEM an Islamist Sudanese armed opposition group, currently led by Jibril Ibrahim, the younger brother of Khalil Ibrahim who was the leader of this armed group until his death in the year 2011.[6]

It is one of two significant groups from the western region of Darfur to sign the peace deal founded in the year 2000.[7]

In 2003, the group, mostly of Non-Arabs, rebel against the government of former leader Omar al-Bashir, was protesting that Darfur was being marginalized. This initiated a brutal subjugation by the army and mostly-Arab militias[8].

The leaders of the group called for the formation of a new country named the United Regions of Sudan.[9]

b) Sudan Liberation Army:

i) Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minawi (SLA-MM): This group is led by Minni Minawi. It is the second Darfuri group to sign the deal in Juba. The group fought against the Janjaweed’ atrocities and not against the government in Khartoum[10].

ii) Sudan Liberation Army-Abdel Wahed (SLA-AW): This is the most active group in grounds of Dafur carried by Abdel Wahed el-Nur, did not sign the Juba deal. It is one of the most significant group and draws support from the Fur tribe, the major ethical group of Dafur. The group lost its control after the self-imposed exile of Nur to France.[11]

Darfur genocide: How in world news?

The “Darfur Genocide” is claimed to be the first genocide of 21st century wherein in West Sudan Dafuri men, women and children are subjected to rape, mass slaughter and killings.[12]The genocide is being carried out by a group of government-armed and government-funded Arab militias known as the Janjaweed[13] who destroy Darfuris by burning villages, looting economic resources, polluting water sources, and murdering, raping, and torturing civilians. Scarcity of resources and discovery of oil lead to increase in tension in the land of Dafur along with ongoing civil wars. The civil wars and subsequent comprehensive peace agreement between north and south Sudan failed to acknowledge the misery of Dafur, which was hard hit by wars.

Darfur remained underdeveloped and marginalized at the federal level, lacking infrastructure and development assistance. The neglect of Dafur along with rumours and allegations stating government arming Arab tribesman (Janjaweed) for attacking non-arabs worsen the situation, and was used as the justification for a rebel attack on a Sudanese Air Force Base at El Fasher, North Darfur in 2003.[14]

Finally, to settle the dafur conflict, Dafur Peace Agreement was signed in the year 2005-2006 between Sudanese government and three rebel groups namely: the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Abdel Wahid Mohamed al-Nur’s faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), and Minni Minawi’s faction of the SLM.[15]

But after all these unsuccessful attempts, in 2007 United Nations-African Union mission (UNAMID) was issued by United Nations to uphold peace in Dafur.[16]

United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur:

(a) The establishment of peacekeeping operations:

The existing African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) was deployed after High- Level consultations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 16 November, 2006. Extensive negotiations by the world leaders resulted in Sudan’s acceptance of this force in June 2007.

On 31 July 2007, the adoption of resolution 1769 by the Security Council leads to the establishment of African Union - UN hybrid operation in Darfur. The headquarters of the mission are located in El Fasher, North Darfur.

(b) The functions of UNAMID includes

(i) To protect civilians, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Government of Sudan.

(ii)Facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance by UN Agencies and other aid actors and the safety and security of humanitarian personnel.

(iii) Mediate between the Government of Sudan and non-signatory armed movements on the basis of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).

(iv) Support to the mediation of community conflict, including through measures to address its root causes, in conjunction with UN country team.[17] The UNAMID ends its operation in Dafur, Sudan after a peace agreement has been signed between the sudan government, and concerned rebel groups in 2020.

(c)current status:

The UNAMID ends its operation in Dafur, Sudan after a peace agreement has been signed between the sudan government, and concerned rebel groups in 2020. The Sudan government will take care of the civilians and perform the functions of the said mission. And the troops deployed are also being removed in phases.[18]

Conclusion

The conclusion of this article do not concludes the problem in Sudan and that cannot be assumed to end soon. It will take considerable time and the recent withdrawal of the UNAMID troops is a new challenge for the country. The country needs to focus on the basic needs of the civilians instead of party politics and wars.

[1] https://www.infoplease.com/world/countries/sudan [2] Eyder Peralta, Sudan, Which Once Sheltered Bin Laden, Removed From U.S. Terrorism List, December 14, 2020, available at: https://www.npr.org/2020/12/14/946207797/sudan-who-once-sheltered-bin-laden-removed-from-u-s-terrorism-list [3] [4] Darfur Destroyed Ethnic Cleansing by Government and Militia Forces in Western Sudan, May 06, 2004, available at: https://www.hrw.org/report/2004/05/06/darfur-destroyed/ethnic-cleansing-government-and-militia-forces-western-sudan [5] https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/11/17/sudans-rsf-unit-accused-of-abuses-against-migrants [6]Anke Fiedler et al., “The Sudanese Press after Separation - Contested Identities of Journalism” (Berlin, DEU: Media in Cooperation and Transition, 2012), http://www.mict-international.org/projects/the-sudanese-press-after-separation/. [7] National Consortium for the study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism ,July 2015, available at: https://www.start.umd.edu/baad/narratives/justice-and-equality-movement-jem [8]“Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) (AKA JEM-Jibril),” Human Security Baseline Assessment (HSBA) for Sudan and South Sudan (Geneva, CHE: Small Arms Survey, August 2013), http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/facts-figures/sudan/darfur/armed-groups/opposition/HSBA-Armed-Groups-JEM.pdf. [9]“Who Are Sudan’s Jem Rebels?,” Al Jazeera, May 15, 2010, available at: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2009/05/20095721141953829.html. [10] Sudan Human Security Baseline Assessment (HSBA) , Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minawi (SLA-MM) http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/facts-figures/sudan/darfur/armed-groups/opposition/HSBA-Armed-Groups-SLA-MM.pdf [11] Reuters Staff, Factbox: Sudan's rebel groups, https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-sudan-darfur-factbox-idUKKBN25R2D4 [12]https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/africa-july-dec08-origins_07-03 [13] https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/janjaweed [14] https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-rebels-retreat-under-government-air-attack [15]http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/darfur-genocide [16] https://www.un.org/press/en/2007/sc9089.doc.htm [17]United Nations - African Union Hybrid Operation In Darfur, UN News Global Perspective Human Stories, Dec. 30, 2020, available at: https://unamid.unmissions.org/about-unamid-0 [18] UN confirms closure of Darfur peacekeeping mission, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/12/1081122

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