Learn

Current Darfur Statistics

  • The death toll has reached up to 450,000 people since February 2003
  • More than 90% of the villages have been burned
  • More than 3 million people have been driven from their homes
  • More than 260,000 have fled to refugee camps in neighboring Chad
  • 80% of the children under five years old are suffering from severe malnutrition and many are dying each day
  • Humanitarian aid organizations have access to only 20% of those affected and are contemplating pulling out of Darfur entirely due to insecurity
  • 26,000 AU-UN Peacekeepers were promised to Darfur in July 2007, 15,000 on the ground in March 2009
  • There are 9,000 on the ground, 0 have a mandate to protect civilians, aid workers and even themselves
  • International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Ahmed Huran, and Ali Kushayb,
  • In July 2008, ICC Office of the Prosecutor brought evidence to the court clearly stating that Sudan’s President al-Bashir is guilty of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
  • March 4, 2009 the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Omar Hassan al-Bashir - the first ever sitting head of state to be indicted.
  • In the hours and days after, the Government of Sudan expelled 13 international aid organizations and 3 national aid organizations from Darfur leaving 4.7 million without aid.

Brief History of the Crisis

The present Darfur conflict erupted in early 2003 when Justice and Equality Movement and Sudan Liberation Army/Movement rebels attacked and captured the capital in central Darfur. They demanded inclusion in new power-sharing arrangements between the North and the South of Sudan.

Rebellion in Darfur alarmed the Sudanese authorities, posing a threat to the continued viability of the country as a whole. Authorities feared that similarly neglected regions in the east, taking their cues from Darfur, would demand large degrees of autonomy, if not the right to independence. Khartoum became decidedly committed to achieving a military solution to the crisis.

The government’s response was to mount a campaign of aerial bombardment supporting ground attacks by an Arab militia, the Janjaweed, recruited from local tribes and armed by the government. The Janjaweed are killing civilians, razing and burning villages, raping women and young girls, abducting children, poisoning water supplies, and destroying sources of food.

The conflict has economic, political and ethnic dimensions. Its economic roots lie in the competition between pastoralists (generally Arab Africans) and agriculturists (generally non-Arab Africans) over resources, such as land and water. Political marginalization has also contributed to the conflict. Finally, it has acquired an ethnic component in which civilians are deliberately being targeted on the basis of their ethnicity.

The United States Congress has labeled the crisis in Darfur genocide. While precious time is wasted with inaction, the Sudanese government’s terror campaign continues to kill innocent people.

“As American citizens increasingly raise their voices and write their letters about Darfur, the temperature has indeed risen. But no enough. We need to make it a little warmer, a little more uncomfortable for those politicians who would look away. Just a few more degrees. Just a few more thousand letters. It is, frankly, that simple.”

–Don Cheadle and John Prendergast, The Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2005

Frontline, a series from the Public Broadcasting Service, made a documentary about the crisis which gives a good overview. You can watch it online on their website.

Groups and Websites to Know About

Groups started by Darfurians

Current Situation and Updates

Human rights groups doing work in and around Darfur

Groups providing humanitarian assistance in Darfur

Darfur advocacy/education groups

Political groups working on Darfur issues