The Current Crisis in Darfur

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The Current Crisis in Darfur

• And the way it is related to the conflict in the
  South

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Some Basic Knowledge about Sudan

• 33rd most populous nation (37 million)
• Largest country in Africa in terms of area and
  tenth largest in the world.
• Military dictatorship (since 1989)
• Khartoum is growing rapidly 5-6 million people,
  including 2 million internally displaced people
  from conflict
• Economy is booming due to oil (1999).

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The Civil War with the South

• First Civil War, 1955-1972, Second Civil War,
  1983-2005
• Religious and cultural factors northern Sudanese
  wanted one language (Arabic) and one religion
  (Islam) for national unity
• Inequalities within Sudan lack of development
  (schools, clinics) outside of the North
• Natural resources oil (1999) and water

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The End of Civil War with the South

• Peace negotiations began in 2000, and were
  concluded in January 2005.
• The agreement was that there would be a division
  of government jobs and oil revenue sharing
  between North and South.
• There will be a referendum in six years in the
  South about whether the South will secede or
  remain part of Sudan.

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The Conflict in Darfur

• In April 2003, rebel groups in Darfur attacked
  the Sudanese military.
• The government has engaged in counter-insurgency
  measures through the janjaweed against civilian
  populations by bombing 700 villages and killing
  and raping people.
• 2 million internally displaced people.

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Root Causes of the Conflict

• 1984-1985 drought shrunk grazing resources,
  causing conflicts with agriculturalists.
• Like the South, Darfur suffered from
  underdevelopment in both colonial and
  postcolonial eras.
• The Sudanese government is trying to remain in
  power and the country under control.

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Root Causes of the Conflict Ethnicity?

• Ethnicity very complicated in the region
• Both rebel and janjaweed are Muslim.
• Arab is certainly associated with higher status
  and the government in Khartoum, but those of
  Western Sudan seen as poorer cousins to those in
  Khartoum and certainly not as Arabs by those in
  Middle East.

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US Foreign Policy towards Sudan

• The US does not want to upset the Sudanese
  government because
• It does not want to upset the Southern peace
  agreement, which was very important to
  evangelical Christians in the US.
• The Sudanese government is giving the US
  information on the war on terror.
• Access to oil?