3 million Dafuri refugees still suffer despite cease-fire
Juliane Casey
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Features
"Calm" and "Darfur" are words the American public has not used together in a decade. Yet the headline of a recent New York Times article read "Fragile calm holds in Darfur after years of death."
Is the situation in one of the most stigmatized and conflicted areas in Africa finally improving?
Ethnic in-group fighting has ravaged Darfur, the westernmost region of the country of Sudan, for nearly a decade. The region, which is about the size of France, is made up of three distinct geographic zones. The need to access different types of land in different seasons has historically meant that nomadic groups were in constant motion, and therefore had a constantly changing power dynamic.
The current conflict in Darfur broke out in early 2003 when non-Muslim Sudanese began attacking the country's Arab-Muslim leadership, accusing Khartoum of oppressing black Africans and favoring Arabs. The main rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, have both demanded representation in the government and an end to economic disparities between Muslims and non-Muslims in Sudan.
The government of Sudan has admitted to mobilizing "self-defense militias" following rebel attacks but denies any links to the Arab Janjaweed militia, who are accused of trying to "cleanse" black Africans from large swathes of territory, according to the BBC news Web site.
According to the U.N., over 300,000 people have died as a direct result of the conflict. Three million civilians have fled their homes and are living in refugee camps near Darfur's main towns. These refugees live in constant fear of attack from the Janjaweed, who roam outside the camps.
The recent "fragile calm" is really a military cease-fire, a gradual slowing of military movement, according to Eric Reeves, an English professor at Smith and one of the world's leading experts on Darfur. Still, Reeves cautions against taking an overly optimistic view of the situation. "Bomb attacks are still happening, and much of the humanitarian aid from last March is coming apart," he said.
Is the situation in one of the most stigmatized and conflicted areas in Africa finally improving?
Ethnic in-group fighting has ravaged Darfur, the westernmost region of the country of Sudan, for nearly a decade. The region, which is about the size of France, is made up of three distinct geographic zones. The need to access different types of land in different seasons has historically meant that nomadic groups were in constant motion, and therefore had a constantly changing power dynamic.
The current conflict in Darfur broke out in early 2003 when non-Muslim Sudanese began attacking the country's Arab-Muslim leadership, accusing Khartoum of oppressing black Africans and favoring Arabs. The main rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, have both demanded representation in the government and an end to economic disparities between Muslims and non-Muslims in Sudan.
The government of Sudan has admitted to mobilizing "self-defense militias" following rebel attacks but denies any links to the Arab Janjaweed militia, who are accused of trying to "cleanse" black Africans from large swathes of territory, according to the BBC news Web site.
According to the U.N., over 300,000 people have died as a direct result of the conflict. Three million civilians have fled their homes and are living in refugee camps near Darfur's main towns. These refugees live in constant fear of attack from the Janjaweed, who roam outside the camps.
The recent "fragile calm" is really a military cease-fire, a gradual slowing of military movement, according to Eric Reeves, an English professor at Smith and one of the world's leading experts on Darfur. Still, Reeves cautions against taking an overly optimistic view of the situation. "Bomb attacks are still happening, and much of the humanitarian aid from last March is coming apart," he said.
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