Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the
Fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
) is a region of western
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
. ''Dār'' is an
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
word meaning "home
f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the
Daju, who migrated from
Meroë
Meroë (; also spelled ''Meroe''; Meroitic: or ; ar, مرواه, translit=Meruwah and ar, مروي, translit=Meruwi, label=none; grc, Μερόη, translit=Meróē) was an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east ...
, and it was renamed Dartunjur ( ar, دار تنجر, Dār Tunjur, links=no) when the
Tunjur
__NOTOC__
The Tunjur (or Tungur) people are a Sunni Muslim ethnic group living in eastern Chad and western Sudan. In the 21st century, their number has been estimated at 175.000 people.
History
Based on linguistic and archaeological evidence, th ...
ruled the area. Darfur was an
independent sultanate for several hundred years
Richard Cockett
Richard Cockett (born 1961) is a British historian, journalist and writer.
He is a regional editor of ''The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on curren ...
Sudan: Darfur and the failure of an African state. 2010. Hobbs the Printers Ltd., Totten, Hampshire. until
it was incorporated into Sudan by
Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. As an administrative region, Darfur is divided into five
federal states
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
:
Central Darfur
Central Darfur State () is one of the states of Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. It was created in January 2012 as a result of the ongoing peace process for the wider Darfur region. The state capital is Zalingei. The state w ...
,
East Darfur
East Darfur State ( Wilāyat Šarq Dārfūr; Sharq Darfur) is one of the states of Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. It was created in January 2012 as a result of the ongoing peace process for the wider Darfur region. The sta ...
,
North Darfur
North Darfur State ( ar, ولاية شمال دارفور Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; ''Shamal Darfor'') is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km2 and a ...
,
South Darfur
South Darfur State ( ar, ولاية جنوب دارفور Wilāyat Ǧanūb Dārfūr; Janob Darfor) is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states that compose the region of Darfur in western Sudan.
Overview
Prior to the ...
and
West Darfur
West Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ḡarb Dārfūr) is one of the states of Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. Prior to the creation of two new states in January 2012, it had an area of 79,460 km² and an estimated population of ...
. Because of the
War in Darfur
The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups beg ...
between Sudanese government forces and the indigenous population, the region has been in a state of humanitarian emergency and
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
since 2003. The factors include religious and ethnic rivalry, and the rivalry between farmers and herders.
The first historical mention of the word ''Fur'' occurs in 1664 in the account by
J. M. Vansleb, a German traveler, of a visit to Egypt (Petermann (1862-3). Mittheilungen, Erganzungsband II). It is claimed that, like ''sūdān'', ''fūr'' means "blacks", and was the name given by the early light-colored Berber sultans of Darfur to the original inhabitants of the country such as the Binga, Banda, etc. As the historic dynasty's physical appearance became more "Africanized" from intermarriage with black wives and concubines, the appearance of the sultans darkened correspondingly and they became known by the appellation of their subjects, ''Fūr''.
Geography
![DSC 6692-01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/DSC_6692-01.jpg)
Darfur covers an area of , approximately the size of mainland
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. It is largely a semi-desert plateau with the
Marrah Mountains
The Marrah Mountains or Marra Mountains (Fur, Fugo Marra; ar, جبل مرة, Jebel Marra are a range of volcanic peaks in a massif that rises up to . They are the highest mountains in Sudan.
Geography
The mountains are located in the center of t ...
(
Jebel
Jabal, Jabel, Jebel or Jibal may refer to:
People
* Jabal (name), a male Arabic given name
* Jabal (Bible), mentioned in the Hebrew Bible
Places
In Arabic, ''jabal'' or ''jebel'' (spelling variants of the same word) means 'mountain'.
* Dzhebel ...
Marra), a range of volcanic peaks rising up to of
topographic prominence
In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
, in the center of the region. The region's main towns are
Al Fashir
Al Fashir, Al-Fashir or El Fasher ( ar, الفاشر) is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a large town in the Darfur region of northwestern Sudan, northeast of Nyala, Sudan.
"Al-Fashir" (description)
''Encyclopædia Brita ...
,
Geneina
Geneina (sometimes Al-Junaynah) ( ar, الجنينة, lit. ''the little garden'') is a city in West Darfur, part of dar Masalit region, that joined British Sudan at the end of 1919 through the Gilani agreement signed between the Masalit Sultanate ...
, and
Nyala
The lowland nyala or simply nyala (''Tragelaphus angasii'') is a spiral-horned antelope native to southern Africa. It is a species of the family Bovidae and genus ''Tragelaphus'', previously placed in genus ''Nyala''. It was first described in ...
.
There are four main features of its physical geography. The whole eastern half of Darfur is covered with
plain
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...
s and low
hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit.
Terminology
The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...
s of
sandy soils, known as ''
goz'', and
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
hills. In many places the ''goz'' is waterless and can only be inhabited where there are water reservoirs or deep
borehole
A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petro ...
s. While dry, ''goz'' may also support rich pasture and
arable land
Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...
. To the north the ''goz'' is overtaken by the desert sands of the
Sahara
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
, map_image =
, location =
, country =
, country1 =
, ...
. A second feature are the ''
wadi
Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...
s'', which range from seasonal watercourses that flood only occasionally during the
wet season
The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
to large ''wadis'' that
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
for most of the rains and flow from western Darfur hundreds of kilometres west to
Lake Chad
Lake Chad (french: Lac Tchad) is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Central Africa, which has varied in size over the centuries. According to the ''Global Resource Information Database'' of the United Nations Environment Programme, ...
. Many ''wadis'' have pans of
alluvium
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
with rich heavy soil that are also difficult to cultivate. Western Darfur is dominated by the third feature,
basement rock
In geology, basement and crystalline basement are crystalline rocks lying above the mantle and beneath all other rocks and sediments. They are sometimes exposed at the surface, but often they are buried under miles of rock and sediment. The baseme ...
, sometimes covered with a thin layer of sandy soil. Basement rock is too infertile to be farmed, but provides sporadic forest cover that can be grazed by animals. The fourth and final feature are the
Marrah Mountains
The Marrah Mountains or Marra Mountains (Fur, Fugo Marra; ar, جبل مرة, Jebel Marra are a range of volcanic peaks in a massif that rises up to . They are the highest mountains in Sudan.
Geography
The mountains are located in the center of t ...
and
Daju Hills Daju may refer to:
* Daju languages, a group of Nilo-Saharan languages spoken by the Daju people
* Daju people
The Daju people are a group of seven distinct ethnicities speaking related languages (see Daju languages) living on both sides of the ...
, volcanic plugs created by a
massif
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
, that rise up to a peak at
Deriba crater where there is a small area of
temperate climate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
, high rainfall and permanent springs of water.
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...
has detected the imprint of a vast underground lake under Darfur. The potential water deposits are estimated at . The lake, during epochs when the region was more humid, would have contained about of water. It may have dried up thousands of years ago.
History
Most of the region consists of a
semi-arid
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
plain and thus appears unsuitable for developing a large and complex
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
. But the
Marrah Mountains
The Marrah Mountains or Marra Mountains (Fur, Fugo Marra; ar, جبل مرة, Jebel Marra are a range of volcanic peaks in a massif that rises up to . They are the highest mountains in Sudan.
Geography
The mountains are located in the center of t ...
offer plentiful water, and by the 12th century the
Daju people
The Daju people are a group of seven distinct ethnicities speaking related languages (see Daju languages) living on both sides of the Chad- Sudan border and in the Nuba Mountains. Separated by distance and speaking different languages, at present ...
, succeeding the semi-legendary
Tora culture, created the first historical attestable
kingdom
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
. They were centered in the
Marrah Mountains
The Marrah Mountains or Marra Mountains (Fur, Fugo Marra; ar, جبل مرة, Jebel Marra are a range of volcanic peaks in a massif that rises up to . They are the highest mountains in Sudan.
Geography
The mountains are located in the center of t ...
and left records of valuable rock engravings, stone architecture and a (
orally preserved) list of kings. The
Tunjur
__NOTOC__
The Tunjur (or Tungur) people are a Sunni Muslim ethnic group living in eastern Chad and western Sudan. In the 21st century, their number has been estimated at 175.000 people.
History
Based on linguistic and archaeological evidence, th ...
replaced the Daju in the fourteenth century and the Daju established new headquarters in Abyei, Denga, Darsila and Mongo in the current Chad. The Tunjur
sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
s intermarried with the
Fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
and sultan
Musa Sulayman
Musa may refer to:
Places
*Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia
*Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon
*Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam Province
*Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran
*Musa, Kerman, Iran
*Musa, Bukan, West Azerbaijan Pro ...
(reigned c.1667 to c.1695) is considered the founder of the
Keira dynasty
The Keira dynasty were the rulers of the Sultanate of Darfur from the seventeenth century until 1916. Originally the Keira clan were perhaps regional rulers in the Tunjur state, with Sulayman traditionally seen as the founder of the Darfur state. ...
. Darfur became a great power of the
Sahel
The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...
under the Keira dynasty, expanding its borders as far east as the
Atbarah River
The Atbarah River ( ar, نهر عطبرة; transliterated: Nahr 'Atbarah), also known as the Black Nile, is a river in northeast Africa. It rises in northwest Ethiopia, approximately 50 km north of Lake Tana and 30 km west of Gondar. ...
and attracting
immigrant
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
s from
Bornu and
Bagirmi. During the mid-18th century conflict between rival factions wracked the country, and external war pitted Darfur against
Sennar
Sennar ( ar, سنار ') is a city on the Blue Nile in Sudan and possibly the capital of the state of Sennar. It remains publicly unclear whether Sennar or Singa is the capital of Sennar State. For several centuries it was the capital of the F ...
and
Wadai. In 1875, the weakened kingdom was destroyed by the
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian ruler set up in
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
,
largely through the machinations of
Sebehr Rahma
Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur Pasha ( ar, الزبير رحمة منصور; 1830 – January 1913), also known as Sebehr Rahma or Rahama Zobeir, Hake, Alfred Egmont.The Story of Chinese Gordon, 1884. was a slave trader in the late 19th century. He lat ...
, a slave-trader, who was competing with the dar over access to
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
in
Bahr el Ghazal Bahr el-Ghazal (Arabic بحر الغزال , also transliterated ''Bahr al-Ghazal'', ''Baḩr al-Ghazāl'', ''Bahr el-Gazel'', or versions of these without the hyphen) may refer to two distinct places, both named after ephemeral or dry rivers.
Chad ...
to the south of Darfur.
The Darfuris were restive under
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
rule, but were no more predisposed to accept the rule of the self-proclaimed
Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a Messianism, messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a de ...
,
Muhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad ( ar, محمد أحمد ابن عبد الله; 12 August 1844 – 22 June 1885) was a Nubian Sufi religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, as a youth, studied Sunni Islam. In 1881, he claimed to be the Mahdi, an ...
, when in 1882 his
Emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
of Darfur, who came from the Southern Darfur
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
Rizeigat
The Rizeigat, or Rizigat, or Rezeigat (Standard Arabic Rizayqat) are a Muslim and Arab tribe of the nomadic Bedouin Baggara (Standard Arabic Baqqara) people in Sudan's Darfur region. The Rizeigat belong to the greater Baggara Arabs fraternity of ...
tribe led by
Sheikh Madibbo, defeated the
Ottoman forces led by
Slatin Pasha
Major-General Rudolf Anton Carl Freiherr von Slatin, Geh. Rat, (7 June 1857, in Ober Sankt Veit, Hietzing, Vienna – 4 October 1932, in Vienna) was an Anglo-Austrian soldier and administrator in the Sudan.
Early life
Rudolf Carl Slatin was ...
(that had just invaded
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
earlier that year) in Darfur. When Ahmad's successor,
Abdallahi ibn Muhammad
Abdullah Ibn-Mohammed Al-Khalifa or Abdullah al-Khalifa or Abdallahi al-Khalifa, also known as "The Khalifa" ( ar, c. عبدالله بن سيد محمد الخليفة; 184625 November 1899) was a Sudanese Ansar ruler who was one of the principa ...
, himself an
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
of Southern Darfur from the
Ta’isha tribe, demanded that the pastoralist tribes provide soldiers, several tribes rose up in revolt. Following the defeat of Abdallahi at
Omdurman
Omdurman (standard ar, أم درمان ''Umm Durmān'') is a city in Sudan. It is the most populated city in the country, and thus also in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the ...
in 1899 by an Anglo-Egyptian expeditionary force, the new
Anglo-Egyptian government recognized Ali Dinar as the sultan of Darfur and largely left the Dar to its own affairs except for a nominal annual tribute. In 1916, after the
British government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
suspected that the sultan was falling under the influence of the
Ottoman government
The Ottoman Empire developed over the years as a despotism with the Sultan as the supreme ruler of a centralized government that had an effective control of its provinces, officials and inhabitants. Wealth and rank could be inherited but were j ...
, launched an expedition from Egypt to capture and annex Darfur into the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The colonial government directed financial and administrative resources to the tribes of central Sudan near
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
- while the outlying regions such as Darfur remained mostly forgotten and ignored.
Under Sudanese rule
A pattern of skewed
economic development
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
continued after Sudan achieved
political independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the ...
in 1956. The
proxy wars
A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities. In order for a conflict to be considered a pr ...
between
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
,
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
and
Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
added an element of political instability. Darfurians, mainly those who self-identified as "Arab" and "African" people, began to respond to the ideology of Arab supremacy propagated by Libyan leader
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
(in power 1969-2011). A famine in the mid-1980s disrupted many societal structures and led to the first significant modern fighting amongst Darfuris. A low-level conflict continued for the next fifteen years, with the government co-opting and arming Arab
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed ( ar, جنجويد, Janjawīd, lit=mounted gunman; also transliterated ''Janjawid'') are a Sudanese Arab militia group that operate in Sudan, particularly Darfur, and eastern Chad. Using the United Nations definition, the Janjaweed ...
militias against its enemies.
The fighting reached a peak in 2003 with the beginning of the
Darfur conflict
The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups be ...
, in which the resistance coalesced into a roughly cohesive rebel movement. Human-rights groups and the UN, March, 2004,
[Un.org](_blank)
/ref> came to regard the conflict as one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world. Insurgency and counter-insurgency have led to 480,000 deaths (the Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
government disputes the numbers). This has been labeled as Darfur genocide
The Darfur genocide is the systematic killing of ethnic Darfuri people which has occurred during the ongoing conflict in Western Sudan. It has become known as the first genocide of the 21st century. The genocide, which is being carried out agai ...
. "By 2010 about 300,000 had died, according to the UN best estimate, and about 3,000,000 were forced into refugee camps." Over 2.8 million people have become displaced since 2003, many of whom were children (see Lost Boys of Sudan
The Lost Boys of Sudan refers to a group of over 20,000 boys of the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1987–2005). Two million were killed and others were severely affected by the ...
). Many of these refugees have gone into camps where emergency aid
Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...
has created conditions that, although extremely basic, are better than in the villages, which offer no protection against the various militias that operate in the region.
Nearly two-thirds of the population continues to struggle to survive in remote villages. Virtually no foreigners visit the region because of the fear of kidnapping, and only some non-governmental organizations continue to provide long-term grass-roots assistance. the United Nations is in discussion with the Government of Sudan over the withdrawal of UNAMID, the peacekeeping force
Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare.
Within the United N ...
, which is the largest in the world.[Un.org](_blank)
/ref> Other UN agencies (such as the WFP
The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
) might exit.
During the existence of the Calais Jungle refugee camp, Darfur was listed as a major source of the camp's inhabitants.
Peace process
Darfur Peace Agreement (also known as Abuja Agreement)
The Government of Sudan
Government of Sudan is the federal provisional government created by the constitution of Sudan having the executive, parliament, and the judiciary. Previously, a ''president'' was head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the ...
and the Sudan Liberation Movement
The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ( ar, حركة تحرير السودان ''Ḥarakat Taḥrīr Al-Sūdān''; abbreviated SLM, SLA, or SLM/A) is a Sudanese rebel group active in Darfur, Sudan. It was founded as the Darfur Liberation FrontFlin ...
of Minni Minnawi
Suliman Arcua Minnawi ( ar, سليمان أركو مناوي), known as "Minni Minnawi" (; born December 12, 1968 in Furawiyya, North Darfur), is a Sudan, Sudanese politician who was the leader of the largest faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army ...
signed a Darfur Peace Agreement
The Darfur Peace Agreement may refer to one of three peace agreements that were signed by the Government of Sudan and Darfur-based rebel groups in 2006, 2011 and 2020 with the intention of ending the Darfur Conflict.
Abuja Agreement (2006)
Th2006 ...
in 2006. Only one rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement, subscribed to the agreement; the Justice and Equality Movement
The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM; ar, حركة العدل والمساواة, ') is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in Dec ...
rejected it, resulting in a continuation of the conflict. The agreement includes provisions for wealth-sharing and power-sharing and established a Transitional Darfur Regional Authority
The Darfur Regional Government is an administrative body for the Darfur region of the Republic of Sudan.
A Transitional Darfur Regional Authority was established in April 2007 under the terms of the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May 20 ...
to help administer Darfur until a referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
could take place on the future of the region. The leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement, Minni Minnawi, was appointed Senior Assistant to the President of Sudan
This article lists the heads of state of Sudan since the country's independence in 1956.
History of the office
Since independence was proclaimed on 1 January 1956, six individuals (and three multi-member sovereignty councils) have served as ...
and Chairman of the transitional authority in 2007..
Doha Agreement
In December 2010, representatives of the Liberation and Justice Movement, an umbrella organisation of ten rebel groups, formed in February of that year, started a fresh round of talks with the Sudanese Government in Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
, Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
. A new rebel group, the Sudanese Alliance Resistance Forces in Darfur, was formed and the Justice and Equality Movement
The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM; ar, حركة العدل والمساواة, ') is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in Dec ...
planned further talks. The talks ended on December 19 without a new peace agreement, but participants agreed on basic principles, including a regional authority and a referendum on autonomy for Darfur. The possibility of a Darfuri Vice-President was also discussed.
In January 2011, the leader of the Liberation and Justice Movement, Dr. Tijani Sese
The Tijāniyyah ( ar, الطريقة التجانية, Al-Ṭarīqah al-Tijāniyyah, The Tijānī Path) is a Sufi tariqa (order, path), originating in the Maghreb but now more widespread in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, ...
, stated that the movement had accepted the core proposals of the Darfur peace document proposed by the joint-mediators in Doha; the proposals included a $300,000,000 compensation package for victims of atrocities in Darfur and special courts to conduct trials of persons accused of human-rights violations. Proposals for a new Darfur Regional Authority were also included; this authority would have an executive council of 18 ministers and would remain in place for five years. The current three Darfur states and state governments would also continue to exist during this period. In February 2011 the Sudanese Government rejected the idea of a single region headed by a vice-president from the region.
On 29 January, the leaders of the Liberation and Justice Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement issued a joint statement affirming their commitment to the Doha negotiations and agreement to attend the Doha forum on 5 February. The Sudanese government had not yet agreed to attend the forum on that date and instead favoured an internal peace process without the involvement of rebel groups. Later in February, the Sudanese Government agreed to return to the Doha peace forum with a view to complete a new peace agreement by the end of that month. On 25 February, both the Liberation and Justice Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement announced that they had rejected the peace document proposed by the mediators in Doha. The main sticking points were the issues of a Darfuri vice-president and compensation for victims. The Sudanese government had not commented on the peace document.
At the Doha Peace Forum in June, the Joint Mediators proposed a new Darfur Peace Agreement
The Darfur Peace Agreement may refer to one of three peace agreements that were signed by the Government of Sudan and Darfur-based rebel groups in 2006, 2011 and 2020 with the intention of ending the Darfur Conflict.
Abuja Agreement (2006)
Th2006 ...
, which would supersede the Abuja Agreement of 2005
Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...
and if signed, would halt preparations for a Darfur status referendum. The proposal included provisions for a Darfuri Vice-President and an administrative structure that includes both the three states and a strategic regional authority, the Darfur Regional Authority
The Darfur Regional Government is an administrative body for the Darfur region of the Republic of Sudan.
A Transitional Darfur Regional Authority was established in April 2007 under the terms of the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May ...
, to oversee Darfur as a whole. The new agreement was signed by the Government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement on 14 July. The Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement did not sign the new document at that time but had three months in which to do so if they wished.
2020 peace agreement (Juba Agreement)
A comprehensive peace agreement was signed on 31 August 2020 in Juba
Juba () is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the world's newest capital city to be elevated as such, and had a populatio ...
, South Sudan, between the Sudanese authorities and rebel factions to end armed hostilities.
However, further tribal clashes have continued during 2021.
Languages
Languages of Darfur include Fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
, Daju, Erenga
Erenga is an ethnic group of Sudan. In Kulbus province of West Darfur in Sudan the members of this group are at about 30% of the population. The members of this group speak
Sungor language, a Nilo-Saharan language. Their population was estimated t ...
(or Sungor), Fongoro, Fulbe
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...
(or Fulfulde
Fula ,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh also known as Fulani or Fulah (, , ; Adlam: , , ), is a Senegambian language spoken by around 30 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum that stre ...
), Fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
(thus the name of the region), Masalit The Masalit (Masalit language, Masalit: ''masala/masara''; ar, ماساليت) are an ethnic group inhabiting western Sudan and eastern Chad. They speak the Masalit language
Overview
The Masalit primarily live in Geneina, the capital of west Darfu ...
, Sinyar, Tama, Midob, and Zaghawa Zaghawa may refer to:
* Zaghawa people
* Zaghawa language
Zaghawa is a Saharan language spoken by the Zaghawa people of east-central Chad (in the Sahel) and northwestern Sudan (Darfur). The people who speak this language call it Beria, from ''Be ...
.
Other than FUR, the following languages are spoken in Darfur according to ''Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...
''.
*Fur language
The Fur language (or For; Fur: ''bèle fòòr'' or ''fòòraŋ bèle''; ar, فوراوي, ''Fûrâwî''; sometimes called Konjara by linguists, after a former ruling clan) is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken by the Fur of Darfur in Western Suda ...
*''Maban languages
The Maban languages are a small family of languages which have been included in the proposed Nilo-Saharan family. Maban languages are spoken in eastern Chad, the Central African Republic and western Sudan ( Darfur).
Languages
The Maban branch ...
''
**Masalit language
Masalit (autonym ''Masala/Masara'', ) is a language spoken by the Masalit people in western Darfur, Sudan.
Masalit, known as the ''Massalat'' moved west into central-eastern Chad. Their ethnic population in Chad was as of the 1993 census, but ...
*''Taman languages
The Taman languages form a putative branch of the Eastern Sudanic language family spoken in Chad and Sudan, though ''Glottolog'' notes that "no conclusive, methodologically sound basis for assigning Tama to Eastern Sudanic" has been presented ...
''
**Tama language
Tama, or Damut, is the primary language spoken by the Tama people in Ouaddai Region, Ouaddai, eastern Chad and in Darfur, western Sudan. It is a member of the Taman languages, Taman language family. Miisiirii language, Miisiirii is often conside ...
** Sungor language
*''Saharan languages
The Saharan languages are a small family of languages across parts of the eastern Sahara, extending from northwestern Darfur to southern Libya, north and central Chad, eastern Niger and northeastern Nigeria. Noted Saharan languages include Kanuri ...
''
**Zaghawa language
Zaghawa is a Saharan language spoken by the Zaghawa people of east-central Chad (in the Sahel) and northwestern Sudan (Darfur). The people who speak this language call it Beria, from ''Beri'', the endonym of the Zaghawa people, and ''a'', Zaghaw ...
**Kanuri language
Kanuri () is a dialect continuum spoken in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, as well as in small minorities in southern Libya and by a diaspora in Sudan.
Background
At the turn of the 21st century, its two main dialects, Manga Kanuri and Yerw ...
(Bornu)
**Berti language
Berti is an extinct Saharan language formerly spoken in northern Sudan, specifically in the Tagabo Hills, Darfur, and Kurdufan. Berti speakers migrated into the region with other Nilo-Saharan speakers, such as the Masalit and Daju, who were a ...
xtinct*''Kresh languages
Kresh is a small language group of South Sudan. It is generally considered to be a branch of the Central Sudanic languages. Boyeldieu (2010) judges that this has yet to be demonstrated satisfactorily, but Starostin (2016) finds convincing eviden ...
''
** Gbaya language
*'' Bongo-Bagirmi languages''
**Tar Gula language
The Gula language, or ''Tar Gula'', of the Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South S ...
**Yulu language
Yulu (also spelled Youlou, pronounced ) is a Central Sudanic language spoken by the Yulu people of South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR). It has an estimated 7,000–13,000 speakers.Frawley, W. (2003). International Encyclopedia ...
*''Berber languages
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber commun ...
''
**Air Tamajeq language
Air Tamajeq (''Tayiṛt'') is a variety of Tamasheq, one of the Tuareg languages. It is spoken by the Tuareg people inhabiting the Aïr Mountains of the Agadez Region in Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = Natio ...
*''Daju languages
The Daju languages are spoken in isolated pockets by the Daju people across a wide area of Sudan and Chad. In Sudan, they are spoken in parts of the regions of Kordofan, Darfur, in Chad they are spoken in Wadai. The Daju languages belong to th ...
''
**Daju language
The Daju languages are spoken in isolated pockets by the Daju people across a wide area of Sudan and Chad. In Sudan, they are spoken in parts of the regions of Kordofan, Darfur, in Chad they are spoken in Ouaddaï Region, Wadai. The Daju language ...
** Baygo language xtinct*''Nubian languages
The Nubian languages ( ar, لُغَات نُوبِيّة, lughāt nūbiyyah) are a group of related languages spoken by the Nubians. They form a branch of the Eastern Sudanic languages, which is part of the wider Nilo-Saharan phylum. Initially, ...
''
**Midob language
Midob (also spelt Meidob) is the language of the Midob people of North Darfur, Sudan. It is one of the Nubian languages, which are part of the Nilo-Saharan language phylum.
Apart from in their homeland of Malha, North Darfur, Midob speakers al ...
** Birked language xtinct*''Other languages''
**Fulfulde language
Fula ,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh also known as Fulani or Fulah (, , ; Adlam: , , ), is a Senegambian language spoken by around 30 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum that str ...
**Sinyar language
Shemya (''tàar ʃàmɲà'') is the language of the Sinyar people. It is a Central Sudanic language spoken in Chad and formerly in Darfur, Sudan. It is variously spelled ''Shamya, Shamyan, Shemya, Sinya,'' and known as ''Symiarta, Taar Shamyan, Z ...
xtinct**Fongoro language
Fongoro, or Gele, is a nearly extinct Central Sudanic language of uncertain classification spoken in Chad and formerly in Sudan.
References
*Roger Blench (2012Nilo-Saharan language listing
Bongo–Bagirmi languages
{{ns-lang-stub ...
xtinct
Government
The region is divided into five federal states
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
: Central Darfur
Central Darfur State () is one of the states of Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. It was created in January 2012 as a result of the ongoing peace process for the wider Darfur region. The state capital is Zalingei. The state w ...
, East Darfur
East Darfur State ( Wilāyat Šarq Dārfūr; Sharq Darfur) is one of the states of Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. It was created in January 2012 as a result of the ongoing peace process for the wider Darfur region. The sta ...
, North Darfur
North Darfur State ( ar, ولاية شمال دارفور Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; ''Shamal Darfor'') is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km2 and a ...
, South Darfur
South Darfur State ( ar, ولاية جنوب دارفور Wilāyat Ǧanūb Dārfūr; Janob Darfor) is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states that compose the region of Darfur in western Sudan.
Overview
Prior to the ...
and West Darfur
West Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ḡarb Dārfūr) is one of the states of Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. Prior to the creation of two new states in January 2012, it had an area of 79,460 km² and an estimated population of ...
. The Darfur Peace Agreement
The Darfur Peace Agreement may refer to one of three peace agreements that were signed by the Government of Sudan and Darfur-based rebel groups in 2006, 2011 and 2020 with the intention of ending the Darfur Conflict.
Abuja Agreement (2006)
Th2006 ...
of 2006 established a Transitional Darfur Regional Authority
The Darfur Regional Government is an administrative body for the Darfur region of the Republic of Sudan.
A Transitional Darfur Regional Authority was established in April 2007 under the terms of the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May 20 ...
as an interim authority for the region. The agreement stated that a referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
on the status of Darfur should be held no later than 2011. Minni Minnawi
Suliman Arcua Minnawi ( ar, سليمان أركو مناوي), known as "Minni Minnawi" (; born December 12, 1968 in Furawiyya, North Darfur), is a Sudan, Sudanese politician who was the leader of the largest faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army ...
was the first chair of this authority, holding that office from April 2007 until December 2010, when he was succeeded by Shartai Jaafar Abdel Hakam
Shartai Jaafar Abdel Hakam is a Sudanese politician who served as governor of West Darfur and Chairperson of the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority (TDRA). He became Chairperson of the authority in December 2010 following the withdrawal of t ...
. The peace agreement that was signed in July 2011 saw the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority reconstituted as the Darfur Regional Authority
The Darfur Regional Government is an administrative body for the Darfur region of the Republic of Sudan.
A Transitional Darfur Regional Authority was established in April 2007 under the terms of the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May ...
with executive and legislative functions. The chairperson of the Darfur Regional Authority, Tijani Sese
The Tijāniyyah ( ar, الطريقة التجانية, Al-Ṭarīqah al-Tijāniyyah, The Tijānī Path) is a Sufi tariqa (order, path), originating in the Maghreb but now more widespread in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, ...
, assumed the post on 20 September 2011. The regional authority was dissolved in July 2016 following a referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
, on the status of the Darfur region within Sudan. As part of the Sudanese transition to democracy
Sudanese or Sudanic may refer to:
*pertaining to the country of Sudan
**the people of Sudan, see Demographics of Sudan
*pertaining to Sudan (region)
** Sudanic languages
**Sudanic race, subtype of the Africoid racial category
See also
* Sudane ...
, a Darfur Regional Government
The Darfur Regional Government is an administrative body for the Darfur region of the Republic of Sudan.
A Transitional Darfur Regional Authority was established in April 2007 under the terms of the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May 2 ...
was created in August 2021 with Minni Minawi
Suliman Arcua Minnawi ( ar, سليمان أركو مناوي), known as "Minni Minnawi" (; born December 12, 1968 in Furawiyya, North Darfur), is a Sudanese politician who was the leader of the largest faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army. A fo ...
as Regional Governor.
Demographics and economy
In 2008, Darfur's population was 7.5 million. This in an increase by nearly six times from 1973 (1.3 million). 52% are aged 16 years or younger.
Darfur's budget was US$286 million in 2008.
See also
* 2010 Sahel famine
A large-scale, drought-induced famine occurred in Africa's Sahel region and many parts of the neighbouring Sénégal River Area from February to August 2010. It is one of many famines to have hit the region in recent times.
The Sahel is ...
* Ahmed Abdulshafi Bassey
* Darfur genocide
The Darfur genocide is the systematic killing of ethnic Darfuri people which has occurred during the ongoing conflict in Western Sudan. It has become known as the first genocide of the 21st century. The genocide, which is being carried out agai ...
References
Bibliography
* Arkell, A. J., "A History of Darfur. Part II: The Tunjur etc", ''Sudan Notes and Records'', 32, 2 (1951), 207–238.
* Asher, M.J.,"In Search of the Forty Days Road" Penguin. 1984
* Daly, M.W., ''Darfur's Sorrow: A History of Destruction and Genocide'', Cambridge 2010.
* Elliesie, Hatem, "Sudan under the Constraints of (International) Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law: The Case of Darfur", in Hatem Elliesie (ed.), ''Islam and Human Rights / al-islam wa-huquq al-insan'', Frankfurt, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Vienna 2010, pp. 193–217
* Elliesie, Hatem et al., "Different Approaches to Genocide Trials under National Jurisdiction on the African Continent: The Rwandan, Ethiopian and Sudanese Cases", in ''Recht in Afrika'', Cologne 2009, 12/1, pp. 21–67.
* Foerstel, K. "Crisis in Darfur" ''CQ Global Researcher'' (2008). 2, 243-270
online
* Herr, Alexis, ''Darfur Genocide: The Essential Reference Guide'' (2020
excerpt
* Johnson, Douglas H. ''The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars'' (Indiana UP, 2003), ISBN 0-253-21584-6
* Kiernan, Ben. ''Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur'' (2009
excerpt
* O'Fahey, R. S., ''The Darfur Sultanate: A History'', London 2008.
* Young, Osman, Abusin, Asher, Egemi "Livelihoods, Power, and Choice: The Vulnerability of the Northern Rizaygat, Darfur, Sudan" Feinstein Centre for Marginalized Peoples. Tufts University January 2009
External links
Darfur Regional Government
Darfur Regional Government on Facebook
{{Authority control
Darfur,
Regions of Sudan
Former countries in Africa