 |
|
 |
|
| Sudan (Darfur)/Chad Border Region -
Confirmed Damaged and Destroyed Villages
|
The current conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan has claimed the lives of more than 50,000 and displaced nearly 1.3 million. For nearly two years, government-supported Arab "Janjaweed" insurgent groups have perpetrated mass killings and violence in the western region of Darfur. While the Sudanese government denies arming and training the Janjaweed, the militants act with impunity. Victims claim their villages are often first bombed by the Sudanese air force and then pillaged by the Janjaweed. The raiders employ the tactics of genocide, a word the United Nations and other world governing bodies have thus far avoided. Systematic rape, killing and looting, and the forced removal of thousands from their homes into tent cities are all in evidence. The United Nations is obliged to act if it considers genocide to be underway. Projections suggest that by the end of this year up to 200,000 people could die from disease, starvation and exposure. In addition to the humanitarian crisis, the crisis in Darfur presents a threat to African security. Chad shares a 1200-mile border with Darfur, and many victims have already sought refuge there. A spillover of the conflict would spell further devastation to the region. To make matters worse, seasonal rains have begun to wash out roads, making travel and food delivery extremely arduous. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has asked member states to help assuage the crisis and the U.S. Congress, which has termed the situation in Darfur to be genocidal, is pushing for sanctions.
From CIAO's database:
Sudan Endgame (PDF)
Projected Mortality Rates in Darfur, Sudan If There Is No Humanitarian Access (PDF)
Sudan: Darfur Humanitarian Emergency
Minorities and the State in the Arab World
Africa's Discontent: Coping with Human and Natural Disasters (PDF)
Outside Links*:
Sudan: Darfur Destroyed
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/sudan0504/
Dying in Darfur
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040830fa_fact1
Analysis: Defining genocide
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1701562.stm
Sudan: Satellite Imagery
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/sudan/images/satellite/index.html
* Outside links are not maintained. For broken outside links, CIAO recommends the Way Back Machine [http://www.archive.org/].
|
|
