CIAO DATE: 08/04

Sudan: Darfur Humanitarian Emergency

Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)

Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA)
July 2004

United States Agency for International Development

Abstract

The humanitarian emergency in Darfur is a direct result of violence and harassment directed toward the Fur, Zaghawa, and Masaalit civilian groups by Government of Sudan (GOS) forces and GOS–supported militia groups collectively known as Jingaweit. In early 2003, the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) stated that they would engage in armed struggle to achieve full respect for human rights and an end to political and economic marginalization in Darfur. On April 24 and 25, 2003, the SLM/A attacked GOS military forces at El Fasher in North Darfur.

Following this attack, GOS military forces and Jingaweit militia initiated a more coordinated campaign of violence against civilian populations, including aerial bombardments to kill, maim, and terrorize civilians who the GOS claimed were harboring opposition forces. Conflict–affected populations have described recurrent and systematic assaults against towns and villages, looting, burning of buildings and crops, destruction of water sources and irrigation systems, gang rape, and murders. Throughout late 2003, armed conflict intensified, as GOS military and Jingaweit clashed with the two main opposition groups—the SLM/A and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)—in Darfur.

Following U.S. Government (USG) and European Union (EU) facilitated negotiations in N’Djamena, Chad, the two main opposition groups and the GOS signed a renewable 45–day humanitarian ceasefire on April 8 that took effect on April 11. This agreement included a GOS commitment to disarm Jingaweit militia groups and a protocol on providing humanitarian assistance in Darfur. The ceasefire agreement was renewed on May 22.

Despite the ceasefire, Jingaweit violence against civilians continues in all three states of Darfur resulting in increasing displacement. Because the victims are displaced and vulnerable, they become targets of further violence. Even in villages where there is nothing left to burn, the fear of further violence continues to paralyze displaced populations, preventing voluntary returns. This cycle prevents many internally displaced persons (IDPs) from safely returning home, trapping them in camps or informal settlements for the foreseeable future. Out of an estimated population of 6.5 million in Darfur, approximately 2.2 million people are affected by the crisis, including more than 1 million IDPs and approximately 158,000 refugees who have fled into neighboring Chad.

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