The war in Darfur has historical roots in years of marginalisation of non-Arab tribes by Khartoum’s policies, leading to long discontent. Here is a look at the origins of the war in Darfur and why the conflict still matters 20 years on. Conditions are difficult in the camps, with malnourishment rampant and international agencies forced to cut down on their aid due to funding constraints. Some have had their villages burned to the ground, others say their homes are now occupied by Arab tribes.
With violence escalating around Darfur, most have no hope of returning to their villages.įorty nine-year-old Saleh Haroun Mohamed says his brother tried to leave Kalma and return to his birth village last year but was killed by Arab militias.At least half a million people remain in displacement camps in Darfur, two decades after a bloody conflict broke out between the Arab-dominated Sudanese government and rebel groups.įor many among the displaced, there is no home to return to. More than 128,000 people still live here. The UN peacekeeping base used to protect Kalma Camp, Darfur's largest camp for displaced people. Just weeks before the violence, the UN shut down its peacekeeping mission here, once one of the world's largest and most expensive.
Dozens of homes were burned, and more than a hundred thousand people fled. In January, more than 250 civilians, including three aid workers, were killed in inter-ethnic clashes. Ibrahim and his soldiers are calling for compensation to Darfur's victims, and for displaced Darfuris to be able to return home.īut violence in Darfur is increasing, in particular along ethnic lines, threatening to put the region in conflict yet again. She did so, she says, to avenge her father, who was killed by the janjaweed. But these soldiers are not ready to put down their arms.Ģ2-year-old Maryam Saleh Adam Abdallah joined the S.L.A. The Sudanese Liberation Army and the Sudanese government have not fought a major battle since 2019. He's been replaced by a transitional government, which has signed peace deals with two of Darfur's major rebel groups. In 2019, a popular uprising in Sudan's capital Khartoum forced out Omar al Bashir. The violence killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, in what the International Criminal Court allege was ethnic cleansing and genocide. Omar al Bashir, then Sudan's President, responded with brutal force, sending local Arab militias known as janjaweed to attack civilians. They were protesting discrimination and neglect. The first battle was fought in 2003, when the S-L-A launched a rebellion against Sudan's central government,
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