Darfur: An International Responsibility

Darfur is a region in Western Sudan. It is the primary area that has been affected by the violence that started in 2003. The genocide in Darfur is mainly a result of clashing ethnic factions. It started when the Sudan Liberation Movement/ Army accused the government of treating non-Arab citizens unfairly. The government responded violently and utilized the Janjaweed, a government funded Arab, nomadic militia group with a racist ideology towards non Arabs, to carry out mass killings towards the rebel minority groups. These Janjaweed are responsible for many of the travesties that happened in Darfur. The government used the revenue obtained from the heavy oil supply in Sudan to fund them and supply them with more advanced weapons. When the government gave up trying to find the actual rebels launching attacks on the government they turned to the civilians in Darfur and sent in the Janjaweed to systematically kill the inhabitants. The Janjaweed went from town to town raping, pillaging, and committing acts against humanity. Many Civilians had no part in the protests against the government, but were being killed anyway because they were the same non Arab race as much of the rebel Sudanese Liberation Army. Ultimately the civilians were caught in the middle between the rebel’s SLM/A (Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army) and the Janjaweed.

            The Government, primarily Arab, which resides in Northern Sudan, has primary access to the ports in Sudan. Naturally they reap the benefits of trade. In southern Sudan is where Sudan’s main revenue source of oil wells resides. Northern Sudan is considered racially Arab and ethnically Muslim.  In southern Sudan is where Sudan’s main revenue source of oil wells resides. Southern Sudan  was not seeing any benefits from the government despite the fact that they were the one’s who possessed the oil and shipped it to Northern Sudan so they could trade it to other countries. The government retaliated by sending the Janjaweed into Darfur, whose inhabitants are on the side of the rebel's Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement, to kill the people residing there, which in turn would heavily decrease the Sudanese Liberation Army/ Movement's power.

These travesties were allowed to happen for many reasons, some of which are bigger than others. One big reason is the arbitrary borders drawn by Great Britain when Sudan was a colony under British Rule. These borders were set up with little consideration of the ethnic groups in the area and as a result there are conflicting ethnic groups in Sudan. Another big reason this was allowed to happen was because of a slow and somewhat non-existent response by the international community. This slow response met that the Sudanese Government could carry out genocide without fear of retaliation from international players

The death count has been hypothesized to be as little as twenty-thousand or as large as four-hundred-thousand. Either way these are staggering numbers and the international community has failed to mediate the conflict. The United Nations has long debated the issue of whether or not to get involve the internationally with Darfur. The U.N. Security Council has debated whether or not genocide has occurred. Although the U.N. does acknowledge that human rights violations have taken place they fail to recognize a genocide that warrants immediate international response.

The U.N. has made an effort to promote peace in Darfur, but has had very little success. A cease-fire was signed and agreed upon briefly, but neither side honored the agreement. Both sides say they are still committed to achieving peace, but there is not a clear way to go about it. 

Although the death count has been inconsistently reported the displacement of people is undeniable as many as two-million-five-hundred-thousand have been displaced. People have fled from their homes into other countries to escape the Janjaweed, but not even this has kept them out of harm. The conflict has now spilled into other countries such as Chad where the Janjaweed are still killing refugees.

            The minority targeted in Darfur consisted of three farming tribes: the Fur, zaghawa, and the Masalit. The government funded Janjaweed are targeting these people because the Sudanese Liberation Movement/ Army Draws their force primarily from them. By attacking the innocent civilians they are sending a message to the rebel groups and at the same time weakening their strength.

The nomadic Janjaweed have had a History of Conflict with the sedentary farmers that live in Darfur. For Centuries the nomadic, camel herding Janjaweed have conflicted with the farming tribes of Darfur over land. Now the government is giving them the weapons, and the resources to kill the farming tribes in Darfur. This along with the preexisting insentive the Janjaweed have to kill these people in Darfur makes up a deadly combination.

            The word Janjaweed is an Arabic word that can be translated to mean: “man with a gun on a horse.” This description is fitting. The Janjaweed are often seen on horseback carrying guns supplied to them by the Sudanese government. One reporter described them as “a mixture of the Ku Klux Klan and the Mafia.” They are often called “the devils on horseback.” All of these names are appropriate and illustrate at least a couple aspects of the Janjaweed.

            The Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army in many cases is the only thing that stands between innocent civilians and certain slaughter by the Janjaweed. The Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement has its hands full due to the war with the government and their Janjaweed. This makes the task of protecting the minority inhabitants in Darfur even more difficult than it already is. This is not an easy task go begin with. The Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army is charged with the project of defending large camps filled with tens of thousands of refugees. They are ill equipped to carry out such a task they lack the weapons, resources, funding, and numbers to fight the well equipped, government funded Janjaweed.

            The Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement has asked for international funding and aid. The response has been sluggish. The U.S. has made efforts to negotiate with government leaders of Sudan including the president Omar Al-Bashir, but other than that the U.S. has been relatively inactive in stopping the genocide in Darfur.

            Darfur is a place in dire need of international attention. The causes of the genocide in Darfur can ultimately be attributed to ethnic problems due to arbitrary borders drawn during the colonization of Africa an overall failure to act on the part of the international community. The Sudanese Liberation Army/ Movement need international assistance to protect the inhabitants of Darfur from the Janjaweed who kill more civilians every day. The international community has failed to act and have watched genocide happen. Killings are still going on today. The Sudanese government continues to endorse the militia on horseback called the Janjaweed who are responsible for so much hardship and so many travesties in Darfur. After The Holocaust the world said never again and promised to help countries who were in danger of having a certain group exterminated by another group, but so far the world has not upheld this promise in any way. One can only hope that in the future the international community will learn from its mistakes and help prevent situations like Darfur in the future.