GENOCIDE IN SUDAN (Darfur) Darfur: region in western Sudan, one of Africa’s largest countries Conflict between Arab Africans and Non Arab Africans. Conflict began in February 2003 and is still currently in a state of humanitarian emergency..
Background Brutal civil war between the Janjaveed (Black Arab Africans) and the SPLA Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army (Black Indigenous Africans)
Why?Religion –Christian and Indigenous Religions VS. Muslims History… who has a right to the land??? Ethnicity. Both groups are very different culturally. Oil… he who controls it, makes money off of it.
Janjaveed (black Arab Africans) backed by the corrupt Sudanese government, although they claim “they know nothing” when really they give them weapons.
Janjaveed come in and ambush villages, raping and killing. It is a genocide. A severe human rights issue. Children are often “spared” so that they can become child soldiers.
Many flee into neighboring Chad or Ethiopia so that they can escape the threat. These places are not much better. Some are lucky enough to be chosen to make it out of the refugee camps and to America… here they are called “The Lost Boys of Sudan”. They have no country and no family… they have nothing.
Facts: Considered the 1 st genocide of the 21 st century Since 2003, more than 500,00 civilians have been killed. Hundreds of thousands have been brutally raped. More than 2.5 million live in refugee camps. In the camps, people die as there is not enough food, clean water, or medical care.
World Response: U.N. labels Darfur as the worst current humanitarian crisis. World powers have been criticized for their slow or lacking response to help the crisis in Darfur In May 2006, UN humanitarian workers were forced to leave the region when it became too dangerous for the aid workers. “ “The janjaweed militia have said that they will now target all foreigners and all UN humanitarian convoys, so we have withdrawn all people to El Geneina," said Jan Pronk, the UN's envoy in Sudan.” – –By David Blair, Africa Correspondent