The image portrays how horrible the situation in Darfur is and a partial timeline of 2004("Darfur Timeline," 2004).
Timeline:
1916- Darfur no longer independent because British forces incorporated them into Sudan.
1980- Conflicts start to arise in the country
2002-2004- Darfur leaders were kept out of US supported peace talks.
2003- Rebels rise against the government
2005- President Bush states that the issues in Darfur is a genocide.
2006- Fight between Khartoum vs. the rebels
2009- UN Security Council tries to bring 26,000 people to stop genocide.
2009- Obama works to bring all rebels together to prepare the country for negotiations.
2010- A peace treaty is signed, and the Darfur leaders claim the war is over.
2011- "Jan – United States criticises UNAMID for not being aggressive enough in protecting civilians from fighting
Feb – UNAMID says has stepped up patrols in a new push to protect civilians from fighting
Mar – United Nations says more than 70,000 people have fled fighting since Dec. 2010, many seeking shelter in Zam Zam camp. Khartoum announces plan to create two new states - Central Darfur and Eastern Darfur – and to hold referendum on whether to unify Darfur states into one region
Apr – JEM suspends peace talks in protest at Khartoum's plan to hold referendum on administrative make-up of Darfur
Jul - Khartoum signs a peace deal with the Liberation and Justice Movement, an umbrella organisation of small rebel groups. JEM and two SLA factions refuse to join
Republic of South Sudan is formed
Nov - Former deputy chair and lead negotiator for JEM, Mohamed Bahr Ali Hamdeen, forms a breakaway faction willing to negotiate with the government
JEM joins the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, a coalition of rebel groups including SLA factions, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North and East Sudan’s Beja Congress
Dec - JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim is killed and his brother, Jibril Ibrahim, takes over
2012
Jan - Central Darfur and Eastern Darfur states are established
Feb - U.N. Security Council extends the mandate of Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring sanctions for another year. Bashir formally launches the Darfur Regional Authority, an interim governing body for the region tasked with implementing the 2011 Doha Document for Peace in Darfur
Jul - Darfur Regional Authority calls for improved security measures to protect internally displaced people following a surge in violence
2013
Jan - Fighting between two tribes over control of a Darfur goldmine displaces about 100,000 people
Apr - Sudan signs a peace deal with JEM splinter group led by Mohammed Bashar. Soon afterwards, JEM-Bashar commander Saleh Mohammed Jerbo is killed in fighting between JEM and JEM-Bashar
May - UN says 300,000 newly displaced in 2013 alone
Nov - Khartoum announces a new offensive against the Sudanese Revolutionary Front in Darfur and other parts of Sudan
2014
Feb - Khartoum deploys the Rapid Support Force militia in Darfur. The militia attack villages displacing at least 30,000 people" ("Darfur Conflict").
2015- "Sudanese military courts exercised their new power to try civilians, contrary to international standards. The courts acquitted one journalist but convicted at least eight Darfuri civilians whom they accused of being members of opposition forces. In July 2013, Sudan’s parliament amended the Sudan Armed Forces Act of 2007 to allow military courts to exercise jurisdiction over civilians for a range of broadly defined offences such as undermining the constitution and publication of “false news,”" ("World Report," 2015). The year 2015, was worried to be the worst year yet for the Darfur genocide ("World Report," 2015). No further updates available.
"TIMELINE:
2003-February Rebel attacks on Government targets begin in Darfur.
July The Government-supported Janjaweed offensive begins in earnest, causing thousands to flee their homes.
December Jan Egeland, head of UN Emergency Relief Co-ordination, declares that ‘the humanitarian situation in Darfur has quickly become one of the worst in the world’.
2004-April An African Union-brokered ceasefire is signed in Chad’s capital N’Djamena, then repeatedly violated by all sides.
July The UN Security Council gives Khartoum 30 days to disarm the Janjaweed, bring its leaders to justice and allow humanitarian assistance. The threat is not enforced.
September George W Bush declares that what is happening in Darfur is ‘genocide’.
October The African Union (AU) expands its mandate to protect civilians and sends in a peacekeeping force of, ultimately, 7,000 troops.
2005-January Government attacks on civilians decrease, partly because the majority of targeted villages have been destroyed and their inhabitants displaced.
March The UN Security Council refers the war crimes committed in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation.
December Chad declares itself ‘in a state of war’ with Sudan following violent clashes along the Darfur-Chad border.
2006-May The Darfur Peace Agreement, brokered by the AU, is signed by the Government of Sudan and a faction of the SLA (Sudan Liberation Army) rebel group. All the other rebel leaders reject it, saying it doesn’t address key issues such as power sharing and disarmament of the Janjaweed (who were not present at the negotiations.) The rebel movements begin to splinter and a surge in fighting between all sides follows.
August The UN Security Council passes resolution 1706, calling for a 23,000-strong UN-led peacekeeping force in Darfur by January 2007. But the resolution ‘invites the consent’ of the Government, and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir states ‘there will not be any international military intervention in Darfur as long as I’m in power’.
September The first ‘Global Day for Darfur’ is held by campaigners around the world.
‘Devil on horseback’: a Janjaweed fighter.
November The Government agrees in principle to allow a ‘hybrid’ force into Darfur with enhanced UN support for AU forces. The Government subsequently adds many restrictions to delay the hybrid force becoming operational.
December The conflict is increasingly spilling over into Chad, as Chadian rebels supported by the Government of Sudan clash with Darfurian rebels supported by the Government of Chad. Tens of thousands of Chadians are displaced. Militia attacks on refugee camps in Chad increase, displacing some Darfurians for the third time.
2007-February The ICC indicts two people - Sudanese Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Ahmad Muhammad Harun, and Janjaweed commander Ali Kushayb – for crimes against humanity in Darfur. This is the first time someone who is currently in government has been indicted by the ICC. Khartoum declares that it will not co-operate and instead will try Kushayb in its own ‘special criminal court’ – a clear attempt to pre-empt independent prosecution. Some Janjaweed leaders, concerned they may also be tried by the Government, start switching allegiance to the rebels.
April Under pressure from China, Khartoum removes its opposition to 3,000 UN peacekeepers entering Darfur as part of the ‘hybrid’ force.
- See more at: http://newint.org/features/2007/06/01/facts/#sthash.EMLzEnxT.dpuf " (Worth, 2007).
1916- Darfur no longer independent because British forces incorporated them into Sudan.
1980- Conflicts start to arise in the country
2002-2004- Darfur leaders were kept out of US supported peace talks.
2003- Rebels rise against the government
2005- President Bush states that the issues in Darfur is a genocide.
2006- Fight between Khartoum vs. the rebels
2009- UN Security Council tries to bring 26,000 people to stop genocide.
2009- Obama works to bring all rebels together to prepare the country for negotiations.
2010- A peace treaty is signed, and the Darfur leaders claim the war is over.
2011- "Jan – United States criticises UNAMID for not being aggressive enough in protecting civilians from fighting
Feb – UNAMID says has stepped up patrols in a new push to protect civilians from fighting
Mar – United Nations says more than 70,000 people have fled fighting since Dec. 2010, many seeking shelter in Zam Zam camp. Khartoum announces plan to create two new states - Central Darfur and Eastern Darfur – and to hold referendum on whether to unify Darfur states into one region
Apr – JEM suspends peace talks in protest at Khartoum's plan to hold referendum on administrative make-up of Darfur
Jul - Khartoum signs a peace deal with the Liberation and Justice Movement, an umbrella organisation of small rebel groups. JEM and two SLA factions refuse to join
Republic of South Sudan is formed
Nov - Former deputy chair and lead negotiator for JEM, Mohamed Bahr Ali Hamdeen, forms a breakaway faction willing to negotiate with the government
JEM joins the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, a coalition of rebel groups including SLA factions, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North and East Sudan’s Beja Congress
Dec - JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim is killed and his brother, Jibril Ibrahim, takes over
2012
Jan - Central Darfur and Eastern Darfur states are established
Feb - U.N. Security Council extends the mandate of Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring sanctions for another year. Bashir formally launches the Darfur Regional Authority, an interim governing body for the region tasked with implementing the 2011 Doha Document for Peace in Darfur
Jul - Darfur Regional Authority calls for improved security measures to protect internally displaced people following a surge in violence
2013
Jan - Fighting between two tribes over control of a Darfur goldmine displaces about 100,000 people
Apr - Sudan signs a peace deal with JEM splinter group led by Mohammed Bashar. Soon afterwards, JEM-Bashar commander Saleh Mohammed Jerbo is killed in fighting between JEM and JEM-Bashar
May - UN says 300,000 newly displaced in 2013 alone
Nov - Khartoum announces a new offensive against the Sudanese Revolutionary Front in Darfur and other parts of Sudan
2014
Feb - Khartoum deploys the Rapid Support Force militia in Darfur. The militia attack villages displacing at least 30,000 people" ("Darfur Conflict").
2015- "Sudanese military courts exercised their new power to try civilians, contrary to international standards. The courts acquitted one journalist but convicted at least eight Darfuri civilians whom they accused of being members of opposition forces. In July 2013, Sudan’s parliament amended the Sudan Armed Forces Act of 2007 to allow military courts to exercise jurisdiction over civilians for a range of broadly defined offences such as undermining the constitution and publication of “false news,”" ("World Report," 2015). The year 2015, was worried to be the worst year yet for the Darfur genocide ("World Report," 2015). No further updates available.
"TIMELINE:
2003-February Rebel attacks on Government targets begin in Darfur.
July The Government-supported Janjaweed offensive begins in earnest, causing thousands to flee their homes.
December Jan Egeland, head of UN Emergency Relief Co-ordination, declares that ‘the humanitarian situation in Darfur has quickly become one of the worst in the world’.
2004-April An African Union-brokered ceasefire is signed in Chad’s capital N’Djamena, then repeatedly violated by all sides.
July The UN Security Council gives Khartoum 30 days to disarm the Janjaweed, bring its leaders to justice and allow humanitarian assistance. The threat is not enforced.
September George W Bush declares that what is happening in Darfur is ‘genocide’.
October The African Union (AU) expands its mandate to protect civilians and sends in a peacekeeping force of, ultimately, 7,000 troops.
2005-January Government attacks on civilians decrease, partly because the majority of targeted villages have been destroyed and their inhabitants displaced.
March The UN Security Council refers the war crimes committed in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation.
December Chad declares itself ‘in a state of war’ with Sudan following violent clashes along the Darfur-Chad border.
2006-May The Darfur Peace Agreement, brokered by the AU, is signed by the Government of Sudan and a faction of the SLA (Sudan Liberation Army) rebel group. All the other rebel leaders reject it, saying it doesn’t address key issues such as power sharing and disarmament of the Janjaweed (who were not present at the negotiations.) The rebel movements begin to splinter and a surge in fighting between all sides follows.
August The UN Security Council passes resolution 1706, calling for a 23,000-strong UN-led peacekeeping force in Darfur by January 2007. But the resolution ‘invites the consent’ of the Government, and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir states ‘there will not be any international military intervention in Darfur as long as I’m in power’.
September The first ‘Global Day for Darfur’ is held by campaigners around the world.
‘Devil on horseback’: a Janjaweed fighter.
November The Government agrees in principle to allow a ‘hybrid’ force into Darfur with enhanced UN support for AU forces. The Government subsequently adds many restrictions to delay the hybrid force becoming operational.
December The conflict is increasingly spilling over into Chad, as Chadian rebels supported by the Government of Sudan clash with Darfurian rebels supported by the Government of Chad. Tens of thousands of Chadians are displaced. Militia attacks on refugee camps in Chad increase, displacing some Darfurians for the third time.
2007-February The ICC indicts two people - Sudanese Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Ahmad Muhammad Harun, and Janjaweed commander Ali Kushayb – for crimes against humanity in Darfur. This is the first time someone who is currently in government has been indicted by the ICC. Khartoum declares that it will not co-operate and instead will try Kushayb in its own ‘special criminal court’ – a clear attempt to pre-empt independent prosecution. Some Janjaweed leaders, concerned they may also be tried by the Government, start switching allegiance to the rebels.
April Under pressure from China, Khartoum removes its opposition to 3,000 UN peacekeepers entering Darfur as part of the ‘hybrid’ force.
- See more at: http://newint.org/features/2007/06/01/facts/#sthash.EMLzEnxT.dpuf " (Worth, 2007).
The video is an interview with Bashir, the leader of Sudan ("Exclusive," 2015).
Causes
"Desertification and environmental degradation are not often mentioned in the same sentence as Darfur; however, they constitute as one of the root causes of this conflict," (Khan, 2015). "With the desertification consuming 100 kilometers of the semi-arid land in the Sahel belt over the last four years, annual rainfall dropping by about half since 1917, and the regions population increasing six-fold, the government and the international community are confronted with several alarming socioeconomic and environmental variables," (Khan, 2015). "The region, historically separate and long neglected by Khartoum, lacks basic infrastructure and social services. Experts say the motives for the rebellion are exclusion from political power, lack of roads, schools and water infrastructure," ("Darfur Conflict"). "To make matters worse, ethnic differences between the two groups – who used to co-exist peacefully in the main – were exaggerated by local leaders in the battle over resources," ("Darfur Conflict"). The cause of the genocide was highly influenced by the Sudan government that wanted to get rid of the black African tribes. They wouldn't allow for any peace between the groups and forced violence among the people. This made it hard to stop the push for fighting between groups ("Darfur Conflict").