View source for War in Darfur

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{{Current|date=April 2007}} 
{{Infobox Military Conflict (3 sided)  
|conflict=Darfur Conflict 
|image=
|caption=
|date=[[2003]]–present
|place=[[Darfur]]
|result=Humanitarian catastrophe (est. 200,000-400,000 or more dead and 2,500,000 refugees) <br> Merged into the [[Central African War]]
|combatant1=[[Justice and Equality Movement|JEM]] factions <br> [[National Redemption Front|NRF]] alliance <br> {{TCD}} (alleged)
|combatant2=[[Janjaweed]]<br> [[Sudan Liberation Movement|SLM]] (Minnawi) <br>{{SUD}}
|combatant3=[[Image:Flag of the African Union.svg|20px]] [[African Union Mission in Sudan]] (AMIS)
|commander1=[[Ibrahim Khalil]]<br>[[Ahmed Diraige]]
|commander2=[[Omar al-Bashir]]<br>[[Minni Minnawi]]
|commander3=[[Luke Aprezi]]
|strength1=N/A
|strength2=N/A
|strength3=7,000
|casualties1=
|casualties2=
|casualties3=
}}
The Darfur crisis is a conflict in the [[Darfur]] region of western [[Sudan]].  The two main military sides are the [[Military of Sudan|Sudanese Military]] and the [[Janjaweed|Janjaweed militia]], recruited mostly from tribes of the northern [[Rizeigat]].  The other side comprises a variety of rebel groups, notably the [[Sudan Liberation Movement]] and the [[Justice and Equality Movement]], recruited primarily from the [[Fur people|Fur]], [[Zaghawa]], and [[Massaleit]] ethnic groups. The [[Government of Sudan|Sudanese government]], while publicly denying that it supports the Janjaweed, has provided money and assistance to the militia and has participated in joint attacks targeting the land-tilling tribes from which the Darfuri rebels draw support.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Rights Group Says Sudan's Government Aided Militias
|url=http://www.genocidewatch.org/SudanRightsGroupSaysSudanAidesMilitas20July2004.htm
|date=[[2004-07-20]]
|publisher=[[Washington Post]]
|accessdate=2007-01-14}}</ref> The conflict began in [[February 2003]]. Unlike in the [[Second Sudanese Civil War]], which was fought between the primarily [[Muslim]] north and [[Christian]] and [[Animist]] south, almost all of the combatants and victims in Darfur are Muslim.<ref>See Wikipedia entries on the [[Fur people|Fur]] and [[Zaghawa]] as well as articles in [http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-04-30-darfurrally_x.htm USA Today], [http://www.slate.com/id/2104814/ Slate] and the [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18674 New York Review of Books]. Additionally, the [http://www.un.org/News/dh/sudan/com_inq_darfur.pdf#search=%22un%20report%20darfur%20genocide%22 Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General (PDF)], United Nations, [[25 January]] [[2005]], states: "The various tribes that have been the object of attacks and killings (chiefly the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa tribes) do not appear to make up ethnic groups distinct from the ethnic group to which persons or militias that attack them belong. They speak the same language (Arabic) and embrace the same religion (Islam)" (p. 129).</ref> 

The government and Janjaweed attacks upon the non-Baggara civilian populace have resulted in a major [[humanitarian crisis]].  There are many casualty estimates, most concurring on a range within the hundreds of thousands. The [[United Nations]] (UN) estimates that the conflict has left as many as 450,000 dead from violence and disease.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hundreds Killed in Attacks in Eastern Chad |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001775.html|date=[[2007-04-11]] |publisher=[[Washington Post]]}} </ref> Most [[Non-governmental organization|NGOs]] (non-governmental organizations) use 200,000 to over 400,000, a figure from the [[Coalition for International Justice]] that has since been cited by the UN. Sudan's government claims that over 9,000 people have been killed, although this figure is seen as counterfactual.<ref>{{cite news |title=US Angry Over Sudan Leader's Denial of Role in Darfur Atrocities |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-03-20-voa85.cfm|date=[[2007-03-20]] |publisher=[[Voice Of America]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=With Sudan a member, the UN is pointless |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article610761.ece|date=[[2006-10-24]] |publisher=[[The Times]]}}</ref> As many as 2.5 million are thought to have been [[displaced person|displaced]] as of October 2006. 
<ref>{{cite news |title=African Union Force Ineffective, Complain Refugees in Darfur |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/15/AR2006101500655.html|date=[[2006-10-16]] |publisher=[[The Washington Post]]}} </ref> (''See [[Darfur conflict#Counting deaths|Counting deaths]] section, below'') 

The Sudanese government has succeeded in suppressing information by jailing and murdering witnesses since 2004 and tampering with evidence such as disturbing mass graves and by doing so eliminating their forensic value.<ref>{{cite news |title=The horrors of Darfur's ground zero |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21803054-2703,00.html|date=[[2007-05-28]] |publisher=[[The Australian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Darfur Destroyed - Summary |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2004/sudan0504/2.htm|date=[[2004-05]] |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Darfur Destroyed -Destroying Evidence? |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2005/darfur1205/8.htm#_Toc121546245|date=[[2004-05]] |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref> In addition, by obstructing and arresting journalists, the Sudanese government has been able to obscure much of what has gone on.<ref>{{cite news |title=Country Of Origin Report: Sudan|url=http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/4565711b4.pdf|date=[[2006-10-27]] |publisher=Research, Development and Statistics (RDS), Home Office, UK}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Tribune correspondent charged as spy in Sudan|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/chi-060826salopek,0,6941372.story?coll=la-home-headlines|date=[[2006-08-26]] |publisher=[[LA Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=World Press Freedom Review |url=http://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/freedom_detail.html?country=/KW0001/KW0004/KW0104/&year=2005|date=[[2005]] |publisher=[[International Press Institute]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Police put on a show of force, but are Darfur’s militia killers free to roam? |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article468451.ece|date=[[2004-08-12]] |publisher=[[The Times]]}}</ref> The mass media once described the conflict as both "[[ethnic cleansing]]" and "[[genocide]]," and now do so without hesitation. The [[United States government]] has described it as genocide,<ref>{{cite news |title=Darfur: A ‘Plan B’ to Stop Genocide? |url=http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/rm/82941.htm|date=[[2007-04-11]] |publisher=[[US Department of State]]}} </ref> although the UN has declined to do so. (''See [[International response to the Darfur conflict#Declarations of Genocide|List of declarations of genocide in Darfur]]'') In March 2007 the U.N. mission accused Sudan's government of orchestrating and taking part in "gross violations" in Darfur and called for urgent international action to protect civilians there.<ref>http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070312/wl_nm/sudan_darfur_rights_dc</ref> 

After fighting worsened in [[July 2006|July]] and [[August 2006|August]], on [[August 31]], [[2006]], the [[United Nations Security Council]] approved [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1706|Resolution 1706]] which called for a new 17,300-troop UN [[peacekeeping]] force to supplant or supplement a poorly funded, ill-equipped 7,000-troop [[African Union]] [[African Union Mission in Sudan|Mission in Sudan peacekeeping force]]. Sudan strongly objected to the resolution and said that it would see the UN forces in the region as foreign invaders. The next day, the [[Military of Sudan|Sudanese military]] launched a major offensive in the region. (''See [[Darfur conflict#New proposed UN peacekeeping force|New proposed UN peacekeeping force]]'') In the meantime, the conflict expanded into part of the broader [[Central African War]].

{| style="float: right; clear:right; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; padding: 0.5em; background: #fffff4; border: 1px solid #ddb; width: 250px; font-size:90%;"
|-
|List of abbreviations used in this article<br>
AU: [[African Union]]<br>
DLF: [[Darfur Liberation Front]]<br>
IDP:  [[Internally Displaced Person]] <br>
JEM: [[Justice and Equality Movement]]<br>
NRF: [[National Redemption Front]]<br>
SLA: [[Sudan Liberation Army]]<br>
SLM: [[Sudan Liberation Movement]]<br>
SPLA: [[Sudan People's Liberation Army]]<br>
UN: [[United Nations]] <br> 
UNSC: [[United Nations Security Council]]
|}

==Background== 
{{main|History of Darfur}}  	
The conflict taking place in Darfur has many interwoven causes.  While rooted in structural inequality between the center of the country around the [[Nile]] and the 'peripheral' areas such as Darfur, tensions were exacerbated in the last two decades of the twentieth century by a combination of environmental calamity, political opportunism and regional politics.  A point of particular confusion has been the characterization of the conflict as one between '[[Arab]]' and '[[African]]' populations, a [[dichotomy]] that one historian describes as "both true and false".<ref>[[Gérard Prunier]], ''Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide'', Cornell University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-8014-4450-0, p. 4</ref>

In the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century, the [[Keira dynasty]] of the [[Fur people]] of the [[Marrah Mountains]] established a [[sultan]]ate with [[Islam]] as the [[state religion]]. The sultanate was conquered by the [[Turkiyah|Turco-Egyptian]] force expanding south along the Nile, which was in turn defeated by the [[Muhammad Ahmad]], the self-proclaimed ''[[Mahdi]]''.  The Mahdist state collapsed under the onslaught of the British force led by [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Herbert Kitchener]], who established an [[History of the Anglo-Egyptian co-dominium|Anglo-Egyptian co-dominium]] to rule Sudan.  The British allowed Darfur ''[[de jure]]'' autonomy until 1916 when they invaded and incorporated the region into Sudan.<ref>Prunier, pp. 8-24</ref>  Within Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the bulk of resources were devoted toward [[Khartoum]] and [[Blue Nile Province]], leaving the rest of the country relatively undeveloped. 

[[Image:Darfur IDPs 1 camp.jpg|thumb|right|300px|An [[internally displaced persons]] camp in [[Darfur]]]] 
The inhabitants of the Nile Valley, which had received the bulk of British investment, continued the pattern of economic and political marginalization after independence was achieved in 1956.  In the 1968 elections, factionalism within the ruling [[Umma Party (Sudan)|Umma Party]] led candidates, notably [[Sadiq al-Mahdi]], to try to split off portions of the Darfuri electorate either by blaming the region's underdevelopment on the Arabs, in the case of appeals to the stationary peoples, or by appealing to the Baggara semi-nomads to support their fellow Nile Arabs.   This Arab-African dichotomy, which was not an indigenously developed way of perceiving local relations, was exacerbated after [[Libya]]n President [[Muammar Gaddafi]] became focused on establishing an Arab belt across the [[Sahel]] and promulgated an ideology of Arab supremacy.<ref>Prunier, pp. 42-44</ref>  As a result of a sequence of interactions between Sudan, Libya and Chad from the late 1960s through the 1980s, including the creation of the Libyan-supported [[Islamic Legion]], Sudanese President [[Gaafar Nimeiry]] established Darfur as a rear base for the rebel force led by [[Hissène Habré]], which was attempting to overthrow the Chadian government and was also anti-Gaddafi.<ref>Prunier, pp. 44-47</ref>  

In 1983 and 1984, the rains failed and the region was plunged into a [[famine]].<ref>Prunier, pp. 47-52</ref>  The famine killed an estimated 95,000 people out of a population of 3.1 million. Nimeiry was overthrown on [[5 April]] [[1985]], and Sadiq al-Mahdi came out of exile, making a deal with Gaddafi, which al-Mahdi did not honor, to turn over Darfur to Libya if he was supplied with the funds to win the upcoming elections.<ref>Prunier, pp. 52-53, 56</ref>

In early [[2003]], two local rebel groups &mdash; the [[Justice and Equality Movement]] (JEM) and the [[Sudan Liberation Movement]] (SLM)<ref name=SLM-POLITICAL-DECLARATION>{{cite web
|title=The Sudan Liberation Movement and Sudan Liberation Army (SLM/SLA) Political Declaration
|url=http://www.sudan.net/news/press/postedr/214.shtml
|date=[[2003-03-14]]
|publisher=[[Sudan Liberation Movement]]
|accessdate=2007-02-07 }}</ref> &mdash; accused the government of oppressing non-Arabs. The SLM, which is much larger than the JEM, is generally associated with the Fur and Masalit, as well as the Wagi clan of the Zaghawa, while the JEM is associated with the Kobe clan of Zaghawa. Later that year, leaders of both groups, the Sudanese Government and representatives of the International diplomatic community were brought together in Geneva by the [[Center for Humanitarian Dialogue]] to look at ways of addressing the humanitarian crisis. In 2004, the JEM joined the [[Eastern Front (Sudan)|Eastern Front]], a group set up in 2004 as an alliance between two eastern tribal rebel groups, the [[Rashaida]] tribe's [[Free Lions]] and the [[Beja Congress]]. The JEM has also been accused of being controlled by [[Hassan al-Turabi]].

On January 20, 2006, SLM declared a merger with the Justice and Equality Movement to form the Alliance of Revolutionary Forces of West Sudan. However, in May of that year, the SLM and JEM were again negotiating as separate entities.

==History of the conflict, 2003-2007==
{{Darfur conflict}}

The starting point of the conflict in the Darfur region is typically said to be [[26 February]] [[2003]], when a group calling itself the [[Darfur Liberation Front]] (DLF) publicly claimed credit for an attack on [[Golo]], the headquarters of [[Jebel Marra]] District.  Even prior to this attack, however, a conflict had erupted in Darfur, as rebels had already attacked police stations, army outposts and military convoys, and the government had engaged in a massive air and land assault on the rebel stronghold in the [[Marrah Mountains]].  The rebels' first military action was a successful attack on an army garrison on the mountain on [[25 February]] [[2002]] and the Sudanese government had been aware of a unified rebel movement since an attack on the Golo police station in June 2002.  Chroniclers Julie Flint and [[Alex de Waal]] state that the beginning of the rebellion is better dated to [[21 July]] [[2001]], when a group of Zaghawa and [[Fur people|Fur]] met in [[Abu Gamra]] and swore oaths on the [[Qur'an]] to work together to defend against government-sponsored attacks on their villages.<ref>Julie Flint and [[Alex de Waal]], ''Darfur: A Short History of a Long War'', Zed Books, London March 2006, ISBN 1-84277-697-5, p. 76-77</ref> It should be noted that nearly all of the residents of Darfur are [[Muslim]], as are the [[Janjaweed]] and the government leaders in [[Khartoum]].<ref>Ibid.,  [http://www.un.org/News/dh/sudan/com_inq_darfur.pdf#search=%22un%20report%20darfur%20genocide%22 Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General (PDF)], United Nations, [[25 January]] [[2005]], p. 129.</ref>

On [[25 March]], the rebels seized the garrison town of [[Tine, Sudan|Tine]] along the Chadian border, seizing large quantities of supplies and arms.  Despite a threat by President [[Omar al-Bashir]] to "unleash" the army, the military had little in reserve.  The army was already deployed both to the south, where the [[Second Sudanese Civil War]] was drawing to an end, and the east, where rebels sponsored by [[Eritrea]] were threatening the newly constructed pipeline from the central oilfields to [[Port Sudan]].  The rebel tactic of hit-and-run raids using [[Toyota Land Cruiser]]s to speed across the semi-desert region proved almost impossible for the army, untrained in desert operations, to counter.  However, its aerial bombardment of rebel positions on the mountain was devastating.<ref>Flint and de Waal, p. 99</ref>

At 5:30 am on [[25 April]] [[2003]], a joint [[Sudan Liberation Army]] (SLA) and JEM force in 33 Land Cruisers entered [[al-Fashir]] [[Al-Fashir raid|and attacked the sleeping garrison]].  In the next four hours, four Antonov bombers and helicopter gunships, according to the government, (seven according to the rebels) were destroyed on the ground,  75 soldiers, pilots and technicians were killed and 32 were captured, including the commander of the air base, a [[Major General]].  The success of the raid was unprecedented in Sudan; in the 20 years of the war in the south, the rebel [[Sudan People's Liberation Army]] (SPLA) had never carried out such an operation.<ref>Flint and de Waal, pp. 99-100</ref>  

===Unleashing the Janjaweed (2003)===
[[Image:Darfur IDPs children sitting.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Internally displaced person]]s camp]]
The al-Fashir raid was a turning point both militarily and psychologically.  The armed forces had been humiliated by the al-Fashir raid and the government was faced with a difficult strategic situation.  The armed forces would clearly need to be retrained and redeployed to fight this new kind of war and there were well-founded concerns about the loyalty of the many Darfurian non-commissioned officers and soldiers in the army.  Responsibility for prosecuting the war was given to Sudanese [[Military Intelligence]]. Nevertheless, in the middle months of 2003, the rebels won 34 of 38 engagements.  In May, the SLA destroyed a battalion at [[Kutum]], killing 500 and taking 300 prisoners and in mid-July, 250 were killed in a second attack on Tine.  The SLA began to infiltrate farther east, threatening to extend the war into [[Kordofan]].

However, at this point the government changed its strategy.  Given that the army was being consistently defeated, the war effort depended on three elements: Military Intelligence, the air force, and the [[Janjaweed]], armed [[Baggara]] herders whom the government had begun directing in repression of a [[Masalit]] uprising in 1996-1999.  The Janjaweed were put at the center of the new counter-insurgency strategy.  Military resources were poured into Darfur and the Janjaweed were outfitted as a [[paramilitary]] force, complete with communication equipment and some artillery.  The probable results of such a strategy were clear to the military planners; similar strategies undertaken in the [[Nuba Mountains]] and around the southern oil fields during the previous decade had resulted in massive human rights violations and [[forced displacement]]s.<ref>Flint and de Waal, pp. 60, 101-103</ref>

The better-armed Janjaweed quickly gained the upper hand. By the spring of 2004, several thousand people &mdash; mostly from the non-Arab population &mdash; had been killed and as many as a million more had been driven from their homes, causing a major humanitarian crisis in the region. The crisis took on an international dimension when over 100,000 refugees poured into neighbouring [[Chad]], pursued by Janjaweed militiamen, who clashed with Chadian government forces along the border. More than 70 militiamen and 10 Chadian soldiers were killed in one gun battle in April. A [[United Nations]] observer team reported that non-Arab villages were singled out while Arab villages were left untouched.: 
[[Image:Villages destroyed in the Darfur Sudan 2AUG2004.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Destroyed villages [[as of 2004|as of August 2004]] ''(Source: DigitalGlobe, Inc. and Department of State via USAID)'']]
<blockquote>The 23 Fur villages in the Shattaya Administrative Unit have been completely depopulated, looted and burnt to the ground (the team observed several such sites driving through the area for two days). Meanwhile, dotted alongside these charred locations are unharmed, populated and functioning Arab settlements. In some locations, the distance between a destroyed Fur village and an Arab village is less than 500 meters.<ref>[http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/OCHA-64DKD6?OpenDocument United Nations Inter-Agency Fact Finding and Rapid Assessment Mission: Kailek Town, South Darfur], United Nations Resident Coordinator, [[25 April]] [[2004]]</ref></blockquote>

In 2004, Chad brokered negotiations in [[N'Djamena]], leading to the [[April 8 Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement]] between the Sudanese government, JEM, and SLM.  A group splintered from the JEM in April &mdash; the [[National Movement for Reform and Development]] &mdash; which did not participate in the April cease-fire talks or agreement.  Janjaweed and rebel attacks have continued since the ceasefire.  The [[African Union]] (AU) formed a [[Ceasefire Commission]] (CFC) to monitor observance of the putative ceasefire.  

The scale of the crisis led to warnings of an imminent disaster, with [[United Nations Secretary-General]] [[Kofi Annan]] warning that the risk of genocide is frighteningly real in Darfur. The scale of the Janjaweed campaign led to comparisons with the [[Rwandan Genocide]], a parallel hotly denied by the Sudanese government. Independent observers noted that the tactics, which include dismemberment and killing of noncombatants and even young children and babies, are more akin to the [[ethnic cleansing]] used in the [[Yugoslav Wars]] but have warned that the region's remoteness means that hundreds of thousands are effectively cut off from aid. The Brussels-based [[International Crisis Group]] reported in May 2004 that over 350,000 people could potentially die as a result of [[starvation]] and disease. <ref name="'Dozens killed'">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3741875.stm 'Dozens killed' in Sudan attack] (BBC) [[24 May]] [[2004]]</ref>

On [[10 July]] [[2005]], Ex-SPLA leader [[John Garang]] was sworn in as Sudan's vice-president.<ref name="ex-rebel joins government">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4666701.stm  Sudan ex-rebel joins government] (BBC) [[10 July]] [[2005]]</ref>  However, on [[30 July]] [[2005]], Garang died in a helicopter crash.<ref name="garang killed">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4733571.stm Sudan VP Garang killed in crash] (BBC) [[1 August]] [[2005]]</ref>  His death had long-term implications and, despite improved security, talks between the various rebels in the Darfur region went slowly.

An attack on the Chadian town of [[Adre]] near the Sudanese border led to the deaths of three hundred rebels in December 2005. Sudan was blamed for the attack, which was the second in the region in three days. <ref name="Chad fightback">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4544352.stm Chad fightback 'kills 300 rebels'] (BBC) [[20 December]] [[2005]]</ref> The escalating tensions in the region led to the [[Politics of Chad|government of Chad]] declaring its hostility toward Sudan and calling for Chadian citizens to mobilise themselves against the "common enemy". <ref name="Chad in 'state of war'">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4556576.stm Chad in 'state of war' with Sudan] By Stephanie Hancock, BBC News, [[N'Djamena]], [[23 December]] [[2005]]</ref> (See [[Chad-Sudan conflict]])

===May Agreement (2006)===
[[Image:Minni Minnawi and George W Bush (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Minni Minnawi]] was granted a press opportunity with U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] after signing the May agreement.]]

On [[May 5]], [[2006]], the government of [[Sudan]] signed an accord with the faction of the SLA led by [[Minni Minnawi]].  However, the agreement was rejected by two other, smaller groups, the [[Justice and Equality Movement]] and a rival faction of the SLA. <ref name="Main Rebel Group Sign">{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/05/AR2006050500305.html |title=Sudan, Main Rebel Group Sign Peace Deal |author=Kessler, Glenn and Emily Wax |date=2006, May 5 |publisher=The Washington Post}}</ref>  The accord was orchestrated by the [[United States Department of State|U.S.]] [[Deputy Secretary of State]] [[Robert B. Zoellick]], [[Salim Ahmed Salim]] (working on behalf of the [[African Union]]), AU representatives, and other foreign officials operating in [[Abuja]], [[Nigeria]].  The accord calls for the disarmament of the [[Janjaweed]] militia, and for the rebel forces to disband and be incorporated into the army. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4978668.stm |title=Main parties sign Darfur accord |date=2006, May 5 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/685364B5-AF39-47C0-A479-031FB50C5C63.htm|title=Main points of the deal |date=2006, May 6 |publisher=Aljazeera.Net}}</ref>

===July-August 2006===
During [[July 2006|July]] and [[August 2006]], fighting had been renewed, "threatening to shut down the world's largest aid operation" as international aid organizations considered leaving due to attacks against their personnel. [[United Nations Secretary-General]] [[Kofi Annan]] called for bringing a force of 18,000 international [[Department of Peacekeeping Operations|peacekeepers]] to the region in order to replace the [[African Union]] force of 7,000 ([[African Union Mission in Sudan|AMIS]]).<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5239116.stm "Annan outlines Darfur peace plans"], BBC, [[August 2]], [[2006]]</ref> <ref>[http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-08-09-voa33.cfm "Disagreements Over Darfur Peace Plan Spark Conflict"], ''[[Voice of America]]'', [[August 9]], [[2006]]</ref> In July 2006 at the Darfur town of Kalma, seven women, who ventured out of a refugee camp to gather firewood, were gang-raped, beaten and robbed by the Janjaweed. When they had finished, the attackers then stripped them naked and jeered at them as they fled.<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=In a Darfur town, women recount numbing tale of their hell of rape and suffering|url=http://cbs11tv.com/worldwire/DarfursMisery/resources_news_html|date=[[2007-05-27]]|publisher=cbs11tv.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The horrors of Darfur's ground zero |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21803054-2703,00.html|date=[[2007-05-28]] |publisher=[[The Australian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Darfur women describe gang-rape horror |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070527/ap_on_re_mi_ea/darfur_s_misery|date=[[2007-05-27]] |publisher=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> 

On [[August 18]], the deputy head of the UN Peacekeeping Forces, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi, warned during a private meeting that Sudan appears to be undertaking preparations for a major military offensive in the region. <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/17/AR2006081701399.html "U.N. Official Warns of Major New Sudanese Offensive in Darfur"], ''[[Washington Post]]'', [[August 18]], [[2006]]</ref> The warning came a day after UN Commission on Human Rights special investigator Sima Samar stated that Sudan's efforts in the region remains poor despite the May Agreement. <ref>[http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-08-17-voa38.cfm "UN Envoy Says Sudan Rights Record in Darfur Poor"], ''[[Voice of America]]'', [[August 17]], [[2006]]</ref> On [[August 19]], Sudan reiterated its opposition to replacing the 7,000 AU force with a 17,000 UN one, <ref>[http://english.people.com.cn/200608/19/eng20060819_294793.html "Sudan reiterates opposition to replacing AU troop with UN forces in Darfur"], ''[[People's Daily]]'', [[August 19]], 2006</ref> resulting in the US issuing a "threat" to Sudan over the "potential consequences" of this position. <ref>[http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=136&art_id=qw1155982140497A162 "US threatens Sudan after UN resistance"], ''Independent Online'', [[August 19]], 2006</ref> 

On [[August 24]], Sudan rejected attending a [[United Nations Security Council]] (UNSC) meeting to explain its plan of sending 10,000 Sudanese soldiers to Darfur instead of the proposed 20,000 UN peacekeeping force. <ref>[http://news.monstersandcritics.com/africa/article_1193939.php/Khartoum_turns_down_UN_meeting_on_Darfur_peace "Khartoum turns down UN meeting on Darfur peace"], ''[[Deutsche Presse-Agentur]]'', [[August 24]], 2006</ref> The UNSC announced it will hold the meeting despite Sudan's refusal to attend. <ref>[http://news.monstersandcritics.com/africa/article_1194214.php/UN_Security_Council_to_meet_on_Darfur_without_Khartoum_attendance "UN Security Council to meet on Darfur without Khartoum attendance"], ''[[Deutsche Presse-Agentur]]'', [[August 24]], 2006</ref> Also on August 24, the [[International Rescue Committee]] reported that hundreds of women were raped and sexually assaulted around the Kalma refugee camp during the last several weeks. <ref>[http://allafrica.com/stories/200608240406.html "Sudan: Sexual Violence Spikes Around South Darfur Camp"], ''[[Integrated Regional Information Networks]]'', [[August 24]], 2006</ref>  The Janjaweed has used rape as a weapon.  Culturally in the region, raped women are considered unclean, and are ostracized.  Women are even raped in open, public places to increase humiliation for them and their families.  The extent of rape used in attacks is likely greater than documented, because women who have been raped are usually reluctant to come forward.[http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engafr540762004]  On [[August 25]], the head of the [[United States Department of State|US State Department]]'s [[Bureau of African Affairs]], Assistant Secretary [[Jendayi Frazer]], warned that the region faces a security crisis unless the proposed UN peacekeeping force is allowed to deploy. <ref>[http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-08-25-voa42.cfm "US Warns of Security Crisis in Darfur Unless UN Force Deploys"], ''[[Voice of America]]'', [[August 25]], 2006</ref>

On [[August 26]], two days before the UNSC meeting, and on the day Frazer was due to arrive in Khartoum, Paul Salopek, a US [[National Geographic Magazine]] journalist appeared in court in Darfur facing charges of espionage; he had crossed into the country illegally from Chad, due to the strict rules against foreign journalists. He was later released after direct negotiation with President al-Bashir. <ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14738315 "U.S. journalist returns home from Sudan prison"], ''[[MSNBC]]'', [[September 10]], 2006</ref> This came a month after [[Tomo Križnar]], a [[Slovenia]]n presidential envoy, was sentenced to two years for spying. <ref>[http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-08-26T213313Z_01_N26232884_RTRIDST_0_SUDAN-ESPIONAGE-UPDATE-1.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna "U.S. journalist in Darfur court for espionage"], ''[[Reuters]]'', [[August 26]], [[2006]]</ref>

===New proposed UN peacekeeping force===
:''See also: [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1706]]''
On [[August 31]], 2006, the UNSC approved a resolution to send a new peacekeeping force of 17,300 to the region. Sudan has expressed strong opposition to the resolution. <!--<ref name="reuters"/>--><ref>[http://voanews.com/english/2006-09-01-voa48.cfm "Sudan Rejects UN Resolution on Darfur Peacekeeping"], ''[[Voice of America]]'', [[August 31]], 2006</ref> On [[September 1]], 2006, AU officials reported that Sudan has launched a major offensive in Darfur. According to the AU, over 20 people were killed and 1,000 were displaced during clashes that began earlier in the week. <ref>[http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=a7cd74a8-696f-4e24-852c-374f0d279a9e&k=405  "Sudan reported to launch new offensive in Darfur"], ''[[Associated Press]]'', [[September 1]], 2006</ref> On [[September 5]], Sudan has asked the AU force in Darfur to leave the region by the end of the month, adding that "they have no right to transfer this assignment to the United Nations or any other party. This right rests with the government of Sudan." <ref>[http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2006/09/05/2003326213 "Defiant Sudan sets deadline for Darfur peacekeeper exit"], ''[[AFP]]'', [[September 5]], [[2006]]</ref> On September 4, 2006, in a move not viewed as surprising, [[Chad]]'s [[Heads of state of Chad|president]] [[Idriss Déby]] voiced support for the new UN peacekeeping force. <ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/04/europe/EU_GEN_France_Chad_Darfur.php " Chad's president says he supports U.N. force for neighboring Darfur"], ''[[Associated Press]]'', [[September 4]], [[2006]]</ref> The AU, whose peacekeeping force mandate expires on [[September 30]], 2006, has confirmed that they will do so. <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5314544.stm "Africa Union 'will quit Darfur'"], ''[[BBC]]'', [[September 5]], [[2006]]</ref> The next day, however, a senior US State Department official who declined to be identified, told reporters that the AU force might remain in the region past the deadline, citing this possibility as a "viable, live option." <ref>[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N06474298.htm "African Union's Darfur force may stay past Sept 30"], ''[[Reuters]]'', [[September 6]], 2006</ref>

===Implementation failure (September 2006)===
On September 8, 2006, head of the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] [[António Guterres]], said Darfur faces a "humanitarian catastrophe." <ref>[http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-09-08T090839Z_01_L0866016_RTRUKOC_0_US-SUDAN-DARFUR-REFUGEES.xml&archived=False "U.N. refugee chief warns of Darfur "catastrophe"], ''[[Reuters]]'', [[September 8]], 2006</ref> On [[September 12]], 2006, Sudan's [[European Union]] envoy Pekka Haavisto claimed that the Sudanese army is "bombing civilians in Darfur" <ref>[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L12836278.htm "Sudan bombing civilians in Darfur - EU envoy"], ''[[Reuters]]'', [[September 12]], 2006</ref>. A [[World Food Program]] official reported that food aid has been cut off from at least 355,000 people in the region. <ref>[http://english.people.com.cn/200609/12/eng20060912_302059.html "Violence in Darfur cuts off 355,000 people from food aid"], ''[[People's Daily]]'', [[September 12]], 2006</ref> UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the UNSC that "the tragedy in Darfur has reached a critical moment. It merits this council's closest attention and urgent action." <ref>[http://english.people.com.cn/200609/12/eng20060912_301888.html "Annan calls for "urgent" Security Council action on Darfur"], ''[[People's Daily]]'', [[September 12]], 2006</ref> 

On [[September 14]], 2006, the leader of the now defunct [[Sudan Liberation Movement]], currently Senior Assistant to the [[President of Sudan|President of the Republic]] and Chairman of the Regional Interim Authority of Darfur, [[Minni Minnawi]], stated that he does not object to the new UN peacekeeping force, thereby breaking ranks with the Sudanese government who consider such a deployment to be an act of Western invasion. Minnawi claimed that the AU force "can do nothing because the AU mandate is very limited." <ref>[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L14903230.htm "Ex-rebels says would accept UN in Darfur"], ''[[Reuters]]'', [[September 14]], 2006</ref> Khartoum, however, remained sternly against the UN peacekeeping force, with Sudanese president Al-Bashir depicting it as a [[colonial]] plan, and stating that "we do not want Sudan to turn into [[Iraq War|another Iraq]]."<ref>[http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=907164 "We don't want Sudan to turn into "another Iraq" in the region - al-Bashir"], ''[[Kuwait News Agency]]'', [[September 21]], 2006</ref>

===Deterioration (October-November 2006)===
On [[October 2]], with the UN force plan indefinitely suspended on account of Sudanese opposition, the AU announced that it will extend its presence in the region until [[December 31]], [[2006]].<ref name="r1">[http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG4_sub.asp?ccode=ENG4&newscode=147406 "Genocide survivors urges EU sanctions over Darfur"], ''[[Reuters]]'', [[October 20]], 2006</ref> <ref>[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L0285506.htm "AU will not abandon Darfur - AU chairman"], ''[[Reuters]]'', [[October 2]], 2006</ref> Two hundred UN troops were sent to reinforce the AU force. <ref>[http://torontosun.com/News/World/2006/10/10/1992164-sun.html "200 UN troops to deploy in Darfur"], ''[[Toronto Sun]]'', [[October 10]], 2006</ref> On [[October 6]], the UNSC voted to extend the mandate of the [[United Nations Mission in Sudan]] until [[April 30]], [[2007]]. <ref>[http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php?StoryID=20061006-063151-8650r "Extend Sudan U.N. mission"], ''[[United Press International]]'', [[October 9]], 2006</ref> On [[October 9]], the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] listed Sudan's Darfur region as the most pressing food emergency out of the forty countries listed on its ''Crop Prospects and Food Situation'' report. <ref>[http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20176&Cr=&Cr1=Food "Forty countries face food shortages, Darfur crisis is the most pressing: UN agency"], ''[[United Nations]]'', [[October 9]], 2006</ref> On [[October 10]], the [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|UN High Commissioner for Human Rights]], [[Louise Arbour]], claimed that the Sudanese government had prior knowledge of attacks by Janjaweed militias in Buram, [[South Darfur]] the month before, an attack which saw hundreds of civilians killed. <ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1891572,00.html "UN official: Khartoum knew of Darfur militia raid"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', [[October 10]], 2006</ref> 

[[Image:Darfur report - Page 7 Image 1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Children in the camps are encouraged to confront their psychological scars. The clay figures depict an attack by Janjaweed.]]
On [[October 12]], the [[Foreign Minister of Nigeria]] [[Joy Ogwu]] arrived in Darfur for a two-day visit. She urged the Sudanese government to accept a UN formula. Speaking in [[Ethiopia]], [[President of Nigeria|Nigerian President]] [[Olusegun Obasanjo]] spoke against "stand[ing] by and see[ing] genocide being developed in Darfur." <ref>[http://english.people.com.cn/200610/12/eng20061012_311117.html "Nigerian FM arrives in Khartoum for talks on Darfur"], ''[[People's Daily]]'', [[October 12]], 2006</ref> On [[October 13]], [[President of the United States|US President]]  [[George W. Bush]] imposed further sanctions against those deemed complicit in the Darfur atrocities under the ''[[Darfur Peace and Accountability Act]] of 2006''. The measures were said to strengthen existing sanctions by prohibiting US citizens from engaging in oil-related transactions with Sudan (although US companies were prohibited from doing any business with Sudan since [[1997]]), freezing the assets of complicit parties and denying them entry to the US. <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101301464.html "Bush signs law setting sanctions on Darfur crimes"], ''[[Washington Post]]'', [[October 13]], 2006</ref>

Because the [[African Union Mission in Sudan]] is underfunded and badly equipped, it is said that until December 31, violence in Darfur will worsen, with government troops and allied militias, as well as rebels, blamed for new attacks. But so far there is no agreement on what will happen after that date. Aid workers say their access is severely limited by fighting, and some have warned the humanitarian situation could deteriorate to levels seen in [[2003]] and [[2004]] when U.N. officials called Darfur the world's worst humanitarian crisis.<ref name="r1"/>

On [[22 October]] [[2006]], the Sudanese government told U.N. envoy [[Jan Pronk]] to leave the country within three days. Pronk, the senior U.N. official in the country, had been heavily criticized by the army after he posted a description of several recent military defeats in Darfur to his personal [[blog]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6074808.stm "UN envoy is told to leave Sudan"], BBC News, [[22 October]] [[2006]]</ref> On [[November 1]], the US announced that it will be formulating an international plan which they hoped the Sudanese government will find more palatable. <ref>[http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=N01464930 "U.S. works on international plan for Darfur"], ''[[Reuters]]'', [[November 1]], [[2006]]</ref> On [[November 9]], senior Sudanese presidential advisor Nafie Ali Nafie told reporters that his government is prepared to start unconditional talks with the [[National Redemption Front]] (NRF) -the rebel alliance in Darfur- but noted he saw little use for a new peace agreement. The NRF, who had rejected the May Agreement (only an inter-SLM faction was signatory to it), did not issue a comment. It had previously sought a new peace agreement. <ref>[http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-11-09T105555Z_01_L09311339_RTRUKOC_0_US-SUDAN-DARFUR.xml&WTmodLoc=IntNewsHome_C2_worldNews-7 "Sudan says ready for talks with Darfur's NRF rebels"], ''[[Reuters]], [[November 9]], 2006</ref>
In late 2006, Darfur Arabs started their own rebel group, The Popular Forces Troops, and announced on December 6 that they had repulsed an assault by the Sudanese army at Kas-Zallingi the previous day. In a statement, they called the [[Janjaweed]] mercenaries who do not represent Darfur's Arabs. Since 2003, numerous Darfur Arab groups have announced their opposition to the government's war, some signing political accords with rebel movements.

===Proposed compromise UN force and Sudanese offensive===
On [[November 17]], reports of a potential deal to place a "compromise peacekeeping force" in Darfur were announced,<ref>[http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article18750 "US Rice hopes Sudan will okay Darfur force"], ''[[Sudan Tribune]]'', [[November 17]], [[2006]]</ref> but would later appear to have been rejected by Sudan. <ref>[http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=923290 "Sudan 'did not' give ok over international force for Darfur - top official"], ''[[Kuwait News Agency]]'', [[November 17]], [[2006]]</ref> The UN, nonetheless, claimed on [[November 18]] that Sudan agreed to the deployment of UN peacekeepers. <ref>[http://news.monstersandcritics.com/africa/article_1223626.php/UN_insists_Khartoum_will_allow_UN_force_into_Darfur  "UN insists Khartoum will allow UN force into Darfur"], ''[[Deutsche Presse-Agentur]]'', [[November 19]], 2006</ref> Sudan's Foreign Minister [[Lam Akol]] stated that "there should be no talk about a mixed force" and that the UN's role should be restricted to technical support. Also on November 18, the AU reported that Sudanese military and Sudanese-backed militias had launched a ground and air operation in the region which resulted in about 70 civilian deaths. The AU stated that this "'was a flagrant violation of security agreements.'" <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6161692.stm "Sudan 'begins new Darfur attacks'"], ''[[BBC News]]'', [[November 18]], 2006</ref>

On [[November 25]], a spokesperson for [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]] [[Louise Arbour]] accused the Sudanese government of having committed "a deliberate and unprovoked attack" against civilians in the town of Sirba on [[November 11]], which claimed the lives of at least 30 people. The Commissioner's statement maintained that "contrary to the government’s claim, it appears that the Sudanese Armed Forces launched a deliberate and unprovoked attack on civilians and their property in Sirba," and that this also involved "extensive and wanton destruction and looting of civilian property." <ref>[http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article18893 "Army attack against Darfur civilians was unprovoked - UN"], ''[[Sudan Tribune]]'', [[November 25]], 2006</ref>

===January - April 2007 cease-fire agreement and its rapid dissolution===

According to the [[Save Darfur Coalition]], [[New Mexico]] [[Bill Richardson|Governor Bill Richardson]] and President [[Omar al-Bashir|al-Bashir]] have agreed to a cease-fire whereby the Sudanese "government and rebel groups will cease hostilities for a period of 60 days while they work towards a lasting peace." <ref>[http://www.savedarfur.org/newsroom/releases/cease_fire_agreement_offers_a_moment_of_opportunity_for_political_settlemen]</ref> In addition, the Save Darfur press release stated that the agreement "included a number of concessions to improve humanitarian aid and media access to Darfur." Despite the formality of a ceasefire there have been further media reports of killings and other violence.<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=73 villagers killed, rebel group says
|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-briefs18.8apr18,1,1773147.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
|date=[[2007-04-18]]
|publisher=[[LA Times]]}}
</ref>
<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=The UN and Darfur: Watching, but still waiting
|url=http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_RRSTQDP
|date=[[2007-03-16]]
|publisher=[[The Economist]]}}
</ref> On Sunday April 15, 2007 African Union peacekeepers were targeted and killed.<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=African troops killed in Darfur
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6517791.stm
|date=[[2007-04-02]]
|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}
</ref> The New York Times reported that 'a confidential United Nations report says the government of Sudan is flying arms and heavy military equipment into Darfur in violation of Security Council resolutions and painting Sudanese military planes white to disguise them as United Nations or African Union aircraft'.<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Sudan Flying Arms to Darfur, Panel Reports
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/world/africa/18sudan.html?n=Top%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%2fSudan
|date=[[2007-04-18]]
|publisher=[[The New York Times]]}}
</ref> 

The violence has spread over the border to Chad. On March 31, 2007 Janjaweed militiamen killed up to 400 people in the volatile eastern border region of Chad near Sudan. The attack took place in the border villages of Tiero and Marena. The villages were encircled and then fired upon. Fleeing villagers were later subsequently chased. The women were robbed and the men shot according to the [[UNHCR]]. There were many who, despite surviving the initial attack, ended up dying due to exhaustion and dehydration, often while fleeing.<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Attacks in eastern Chad last month killed up to 400, U.N. refugee agency says
|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/10/africa/AF-GEN-Chad-Fighting.php
|date=[[2007-04-18]]
|publisher=[[International Herald Tribune]]}}
</ref> 

On April 14, 2007, more attacks within Chad were reported by the [UNHCR] to have occurred again in the border villages of Tiero and Marena.<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Up to 3,000 villagers flee homes in south-east Chad following fresh attacks
|url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/chad?page=news&id=46127a9f2
|date=[[2007-04-03]]
|publisher=[[UNHCR]]}}
</ref> On April 18th [[President Bush]] gave a speech at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum criticizing the Sudanese government and threatened the use of [[Economic sanctions|sanctions]] if the situation does not improve. Sanctions would involve restriction of trade and dollar transactions with the Sudanese government and 29 Sudanese businesses.<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Bush Presses Sudan on Darfur, Citing possible US sanctions
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/world/africa/19policy.html?ref=world
|date=[[2007-04-19]]
|publisher=[[New York Times]]}}</ref>

===International Criminal Court charges===
Sudan's humanitarian affairs minister, Ahmed Haroun, and a Janjaweed militia leader, known as Ali Kushayb, have been charged by the [[International Criminal Court]] with 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ahmed Haroun said he "did not feel guilty," his conscience was clear, and that he was ready to defend himself. 
<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Darfur war crimes suspect defiant
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6404467.stm
|date=[[2007-02-28]]
|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}
</ref>

===May 2007===
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Chad president Idriss Deby signed a peace agreement on May 3, 2007 aimed at reducing tension between their countries. <ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Saudi Arabia Brokers Agreement Between Sudan and Chad on Darfur
|url=http://sev.prnewswire.com/religion/20070504/CLTH16204052007-1.html
|date=[[2007-05-03]]
|publisher=[[PR Newswire]]}}
</ref><ref name=>{{cite news
|title=UN Secretary-General welcomes signing of agreement between Chad, Sudan
|url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YSAR-72YNLR?OpenDocument
|date=[[2007-05-07]]
|publisher=[[ReliefWeb]]}}
</ref>The accord was brokered by Saudi Arabia. It sought to guarantee that each country would not be used to harbor, train or fund armed movements opposed to the government of the other. The Reuters News Service reported that "Deby's fears that Nouri's UFDD may have been receiving Saudi as well as Sudanese support could have pushed him to sign the Saudi-mediated pact with Bashir on Thursday". Colin Thomas-Jensen, an expert on Chad and Darfur who works International Crisis Group think-tank has grave doubts as to whether "this new deal will lead to any genuine thaw in relations or improvement in the security situation". Additionally The Chadian rebel Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) which has fought a hit-and-run war against Chad President Deby's forces in east Chad since 2006 stated that the Saudi-backed peace deal would not stop its military campaign. Only the carrot and stick of Saudi aid to the UFDD may have forced the Chad government to the table. Thus the agreement may end up hurting the Sudanese rebels the most, leaving the Sudanese government with a freer hand.<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Chad-Sudan pact will not halt war-Chadian rebels
|url=http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN531755.html
|date=[[2007-05-05]]
|publisher=[[Reuters]]}}
</ref> 
Also in May, locations related to the conflict were added in [[Google Earth]].

==Russian and Chinese undermining of sanctions==
[[Image:Helicopter indarfur.jpg|thumb|left|300px|An Mi-24 attack helicopter (reg. n° 928) at Nyala airport in Darfur, March 2007 (copyright AI) Published with permission of AI]] 
[[Image:Plane_indarfur1.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Chinese A5 Fantan jet bombers at Nyala in Darfur, early March 2007 (copyright AI) Published with permission of AI]] 
[[Image:Plane_indarfur2.jpg|thumb|left|300px|This Antonov-26 ('ST-ZZZ') aircraft was spotted at various places in Darfur between January and March 2007 and parked here at Nyala, late March 2007 (copyright AI) Published with permission of AI]] 

Amnesty International issued a report<ref name=>{{cite news |title=Sudan: Arms continuing to fuel serious human rights violations in Darfur|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/pdf/AFR540192007ENGLISH/$File/AFR5401907.pdf|date=[[2007-05-08]]|publisher=[[Amnesty International]]}}
</ref><ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Report Accuses China and Russia Of Arming Sudan
|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50C16FD3C550C7A8CDDAC0894DF404482
|date=[[2007-05-09]]
|publisher=[[New York Times]]}}</ref><ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Congress pressures China on Darfur as Olympics near
|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/17/MNGE1PS99G1.DTL&feed=rss.news
|date=[[2007-05-17]]
|publisher=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref> accusing Russia and China of supplying arms, ammunition and related equipment to Sudan. This hardware has been transferred to Darfur for use by the government and the Janjaweed militias and thus violating a UN arms embargo against Sudan. In its report it showed a photo of Chinese-made Fantan fighters that have been seen at Nyala, Darfur and a Ukranian Antonov-26 aircraft (painted white). The report provided evidence, including eyewitness testimony that the Sudan Air Force has been conducting a pattern of indiscriminate aerial bombings of villages in Darfur and eastern Chad using ground attack jet fighters and Antonov planes. The report contained an image of a Russian made Mi-24 attack helicopter (reg. n° 928) at Nyala airport in Darfur in March of 2007. For several years the Sudan Air Force has used this type of attack helicopter for operations during Janjaweed attacks on villages in Al Darfur. The report also showed evidence that the government has been camouflaging military aircraft and helicopters by painting them white and in doing so, tried to cover up their military use by claiming that they were civilian in nature. The photo of the white Antonov-26 aircraft was reported to have been used in Darfur in bombing missions. China and Russia denied they had broken UN sanctions. China has a close relationship with Sudan and increased its military co-operation with the government in early 2007. Because of Sudan's plentiful supply of oil China considers good relations with Sudan to be a strategic necessity that is needed to fuel its booming economy.<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=China, Russia breach Darfur arms embargo: Amnesty
|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070508/wl_nm/sudan_darfur_dc_3
|date=[[2007-05-08]]
|publisher=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref name=>{{cite news
|title=China, Russia deny weapons breach
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6632959.stm
|date=[[2007-05-08]]
|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}
</ref><ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Amnesty International criticizes arms sales to Sudan
|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-sudan9may09,1,3436998.story?track=rss
|date=[[2007-05-09]]
|publisher=[[LA Times]]}}
</ref>

== International response (2003-2004)==
[[Image:Save Darfur sign from New York .jpg|right|thumb|250px|The [[Save Darfur Coalition]] advocacy group coordinated a large rally in [[Washington, D.C.]] in April 2006]]
{{main|International response to the Darfur conflict}}
International attention to the Darfur conflict largely began with reports by the advocacy organizations [[Amnesty International]] in July 2003 and the [[International Crisis Group]] in December 2003.  However, widespread media coverage did not start until the outgoing United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, [[Mukesh Kapila]], called Darfur the "world's greatest humanitarian crisis" in March 2004.<ref>Prunier, pp. 124-148</ref>  A movement advocating for [[humanitarian intervention]] has emerged in several countries since then.

[[Gérard Prunier]], a scholar specializing in African conflicts, argues that the world's most powerful countries have largely limited their response to expressions of concern and demands that the United Nations take action. The UN, lacking both the funding and military support of the wealthy countries, has left the [[African Union]] to deploy a token force ([[African Union Mission in Sudan|AMIS]]) without a mandate to protect civilians. In the lack of foreign political will to address the political and economic structures that underlie the conflict, the [[international community]] has defined the Darfur conflict in humanitarian assistance terms and debated the "genocide" label.<ref>Prunier, pp. 124-148</ref>

===Genocide claims===
{{main|International response to the Darfur conflict#Declarations of Genocide}}

On [[September 18]], [[2004]], the [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1564|UN Security Council passed Resolution 1564]], which called for a [[Commission of Inquiry on Darfur]] to assess the Sudanese conflict. The UN report released on [[January 31]], [[2005]] stated that while there were mass murders and rapes, they could not label it as genocide because "genocidal intent appears to be missing".<ref>[http://www.un.org/News/dh/sudan/com_inq_darfur.pdf Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General], 18 September 2004</ref> <ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/02/01/newdarfur-report050201.html Sudan's mass killings not genocide: UN report], [[CBC News]], [[1 February]] [[2005]]</ref>

In [[2005]], Rep. [[Henry Hyde]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Illinois|IL]]) and Sen. [[Sam Brownback]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Kansas|KS]]) introduced the [[Darfur Peace and Accountability Act]], which calls on the United States to take a more active role in stopping the alleged genocide, encourages [[NATO]] participation, and endorses a [[Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter|Chapter VII mandate]] for a UN mission in Darfur. The bill was passed by the [[United States House of Representatives|House]] and [[United States Senate|Senate]] and as of August 2006 is in [[United States Congress Conference committee|conference committee]]. In [[August]] [[2006]], the [[Genocide Intervention Network]] released a Darfur scorecard, rating each member of Congress on legislation relating to the conflict. <ref>[http://darfurscores.org/ "Darfur scorecard"]</ref>

===Criticism of international response===
On [[October 16]], 2006, [[Minority Rights Group International|Minority Rights Group]] (MRG) published a critical report, challenging that the UN and the [[great power]]s could have prevented the deepening crisis in Darfur and that few lessons appear to have been drawn from their ineptitude during the [[Rwandan Genocide]]. MRG's executive director, Mark Lattimer, stated that: "this level of crisis, the killings, rape and displacement could have been foreseen and avoided ... Darfur would just not be in this situation had the UN systems got its act together after Rwanda: their action was too little too late." <ref>[http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=136&art_id=iol1160956523318B235 "UN could have averted Darfur crisis - MRG"], ''Independent Online'', [[October 16]], 2006</ref> On [[October 20]], 120 genocide survivors of the [[Holocaust]], the [[Cambodia under Pol Pot (1975-1979)|Cambodian]] and Rwandan Genocides, backed by six aid agencies, submitted an open letter to the [[European Union]], calling on them to do more to end the atrocities in Darfur, with a [[Darfur conflict#New proposed UN peacekeeping force|UN peacekeeping force]] as "the only viable option." [[Aegis Trust]] director, James Smith, stated that while "the African Union has worked very well in Darfur and done what it could, the rest of the world hasn't supported those efforts the way it should have done with sufficient funds and sufficient equipment." <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6069600.stm "Darfur call by genocide survivors"], ''[[BBC]]'', [[October 20]], 2006</ref>

Human rights advocates and opponents of the Sudanese government portray China's role in providing weapons and aircraft as a cynical attempt to obtain oil and gas just as colonial powers once supplied African chieftains with the military means to maintain control as they extracted natural resources.<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=CHINA’S INVOLVEMENT IN SUDAN: ARMS AND OIL
|url=http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/sudan1103/26.htm
|date=[[2007-12-23]]
|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref><ref name=wash-investchina>{{cite news
|title=China Invests Heavily In Sudan's Oil Industry
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21143-2004Dec22.html
|date=[[2007-12-23]]
|publisher=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Artists abetting genocide?
|url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/04/16/artists_abetting_genocide/
|date=[[2007-04-16]]
|publisher=[[Boston Globe]]}}</ref> Political China has offered Sudan support threatening to use its veto on the U.N. Security Council to protect Khartoum from sanctions and has been able to water down every resolution on Darfur in order to protect its interests in Sudan.<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=The Increasing Importance of African Oil
|url=http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=460
|date=[[2007-03-20]]
|publisher=Power and Interest News Report}}</ref>  There has been further evidence of the Sudanese government's murder of civilians to actually facilitate the extraction of oil. The U.S.-funded Civilian Protection Monitoring Team, which investigates attacks in southern Sudan concluded that "As the Government of Sudan sought to clear the way for oil exploration and to create a cordon sanitaire around the oil fields, vast tracts of the Western Upper Nile Region in southern Sudan became the focus of extensive military operations."<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Final Report: REPORT OF INVESTIGATION: VIOLENCE AGAINST CIVILIANS ALONG THE BENTIU-LEER-ADOK ROAD.
|url=http://www.ecosonline.org/back/pdf_reports/2003/oilroadfinal.doc
|date=[[2003-08-19]]
|publisher=Civilian Protection Monitoring Team}}</ref> Sarah Wykes, a senior campaigner at Global Witness, an NGO that campaigns for better natural resource governance, says: "Sudan has purchased about $100m in arms from China and has used these weapons against civilians in Darfur."<ref name=wash-investchina>{{cite news
|title=China Invests Heavily In Sudan's Oil Industry
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21143-2004Dec22.html
|date=[[2007-12-23]]
|publisher=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref> There are additional concerns that Chinese oil companies are devastating the environment further inhibiting the local population's ability to survive. This includes the clearing of forests for timber exports that increases vulnerability to erosion, river silting, landslides, flooding and loss of habitat for plant and animal species.<ref name=>{{cite news
|title=Scramble for Africa
|url=http://environment.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,,2069770,00.html
|date=[[2007-05-02]]
|publisher=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

Calls for sustained pressure and possible boycotts of the Olympics have come from French presidential candidate [[François Bayrou]]<ref>[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L22161580.htm Call for Olympic boycott stirs up pre-poll France], Reuters.  Retrieved on [[2007-03-22]].</ref>, actor and [[UNICEF]] Goodwill Ambassador [[Mia Farrow]], [[Genocide Intervention Network]] Representative [[Ronan Farrow]]<ref>[http://www.genocideintervention.net/about/press/coverage/index.php/archives/210 The 'Genocide Olympics'], The Wall Street Journal, [[2007-03-28]]. Retrieved on [[2007-03-28]].</ref>, author and Sudan scholar [[Eric Reeves]]<ref>[http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article20210 On Darfur, China and the 2008 Olympic Games], Sudan Tribune, [[2007-02-11]]. Retrieved on [[2007-03-28]].</ref> and [[The Washington Post]] editorial board<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121302008.html China and Darfur: The Genocide Olympics?], The Washington Post, [[2006-12-14]]. Retrieved on [[2007-03-28]].</ref>. Sudan divestment efforts have also concentrated on [[PetroChina]], the national petroleum company with extensive investments in Sudan.<ref>[http://www.sudandivestment.org/docs/berkshire_response.pdf Response to Berkshire Hathaway's statement on its holdings in PetroChina Company Limited], Sudan Divestment Task Force, [[2007-02-23]]. Retrieved on [[2007-03-28]].</ref>

On the opposite side of the issue, publicity given to the Darfur conflict has been strongly criticized in the Arab and Muslim world as exaggerated. Statements to this effect in the Arab press take the view that "the (Israeli) lobby prevents any in-depth discussion and diverts the attention from the crimes committed every day in Palestine and Iraq."<ref>[http://64.26.31.21:2010/opinion/OPED/04-2007/Article-20070413-ea5b7f2f-c0a8-10ed-00a3-4c8cb7c2deac/story.html "Since The Victims Are Arabs and Muslims"] by Jihad Al-Khazen, ''[[Al-Hayat]]'' (English edition), April 13, 2007.</ref> and that Western attention to the Darfur crisis is "a cover for what is really being planned and carried out by the Western forces of hegemony and control in our Arab world." <ref>editorial in the newspaper ''Al-Gomhouriya'' (Egypt), April 20, 2007</ref> While "in New York, ... there are thousands of posters screaming 'genocide' and '400,000 people dead," in reality only "200,000 have been killed." Furthermore, "what has been done" in Darfur is "not genocide," simply "war crimes."<ref>editorial in the newspaper ''Al-Gomhouriya'' (Egypt), April 20, 2007</ref>   Another complaint made is that "there is no ethnic cleansing being perpetrated" in Darfur, only "great instability" and "clashes between the Sudanese government, rebel movements and the Janjaweed." <ref>Sudanese journalist Babker 'Issa, editor of the daily newspaper ''Al-Raya,'' ''Al-Raya'' (Qatar), April 20, 2007.</ref>

==Counting deaths==
[[Image:Darfur report - Page 6 Image 1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This mother had just arrived with her sick baby at Abu Shouk IDP camp in [[North Darfur]].]]
Accurate numbers of dead have been difficult to estimate, partly because the Sudanese government places formidable obstacles in front of journalists attempting to cover the conflict.<ref name="Sudan Annual Report 2004">[http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=9946 Sudan Annual Report 2004] Reporters Without Borders, 2004</ref>
In September 2004, the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) estimated there had been 50,000 deaths in Darfur since the beginning of the conflict, an 18-month period, mostly due to [[starvation]]. An updated estimate the following month put the number of deaths for the 6-month period from March to October 2004 due to starvation and disease at 70,000; These figures were criticized, because they only considered short periods and did not include violent deaths. <ref name="How many have died">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4268733.stm How many have died in Darfur?] By Russell Smith (BBC) 16 February, 2005</ref>  A more recent British Parliamentary Report has estimated that over 300,000 people have died, <ref name="death toll may be 300,000">[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L30582172.htm Darfur death toll may be 300,000, say UK lawmakers] (Reuters), 30 March, 2005</ref> and others have estimated even more.

In March 2005, the [[United Nations|UN]]'s [[Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator|Emergency Relief Coordinator]] 
[[Jan Egeland]] estimated that 10,000 were dying each month excluding deaths due to ethnic violence. <ref name="death estimate soars">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4349063.stm UN's Darfur death estimate soars] (BBC) 14 March, 2005</ref> An estimated 2 million people had at that time been displaced from their homes, mostly seeking refuge in camps in Darfur's major towns. Two hundred thousand had fled to neighboring [[Chad]].

In an April 2005 report, the most comprehensive statistical analysis to date, the [[Coalition for International Justice]] estimated that 400,000 people in Darfur had died since the conflict began, a figure most humanitarian and human rights groups now use. <ref name="New analysis claims Darfur deaths near 400,000">[http://www.cij.org/publications/New_Analysis_Claims_Darfur_Deaths_Near_400_000.pdf New analysis claims Darfur deaths near 400,000] [[Coalition for International Justice]], 21 April 2005 (PDF)</ref>

On 28 April 2006, Dr. [[Eric Reeves]] argued that "extant data, in aggregate, strongly suggest that total excess mortality in Darfur, over the course of more than three years of deadly conflict, now significantly exceeds 450,000," but this has not been independently verified. <ref name="Quantifying Genocide in Darfur">[http://www.cij.org/publications/New_Analysis_Claims_Darfur_Deaths_Near_400_000.pdf Quantifying Genocide in Darfur] Dr. [[Eric Reeves]], 28 April 2006</ref>

A 21 September 2006 article by the official [[UN News Service]] stated that "UN officials estimate over 400,000 people have lost their lives and some 2 million more have been driven from their homes."<ref>"[http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19948&Cr=sudan&Cr1= Annan welcomes extension of African Union mission in Darfur]," UN News Service, [[21 September]] [[2006]]</ref> This now appears to be the official UN figure.

==In popular culture==
*The Song "Al Genina (Leave The Light On)" by Our Lady Peace was influenced by lead singer Raine Maida's visit to war torn Darfur.
* A documentary, ''[[The Devil Came on Horseback]]'', is expected early 2007.
* A story arc spanning several episodes and featuring several major characters of the television show ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]'' takes place in the region.
* An episode in the seventh season of the television show [[The West Wing (TV series)|The West Wing]], "[[Internal Displacement]]," deals with the conflict in Darfur. Actor [[Bradley Whitford]]  later spoke out about the need for international involvement in Darfur.[http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/analysis/details.php?content=2006-03-28]
* A campaign was placed on [[MTV]] about raising the need for awareness about Darfur
* On the popular CW show [[7th Heaven]], two episodes are dedicated to this crisis.
* The comic book ''[[Squadron Supreme: Hyperion vs. Nighthawk]]'', published by [[Marvel Comics]], takes place in the region and highlights the conflict
* In 2006 rapper [[Lupe Fiasco]] appeared on [[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]] as a musical guest and ended his performance with the statement "Peace in Darfur ladies and gentlemen".
*The metal band 2050 released a song and music video named "Darfur" speaking of the conflict. The music video can be viewed at: [http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q4t7vpF5uBQ Darfur Music Video].
*Many [[Reggae]] and [[Dancehall]] artists and DJs have expressed a concern about the situation and in the 2006 Dancehall tune, artist [[Capleton]] sings, "Dem nuh like we true mi a speak out fi Sudan."
*[[Green Day]] have released a [http://www.vh1.com/vspot/player.jhtml?vid=151866 music video] for their cover of [[Working Class Hero]] by [[John Lennon]] which features several people from Darfur who speak of their experiences.

==See also==
{{commonscat|Darfur conflict}}
{{wikinews}}
*[[Command responsibility]]
*[[History of Darfur]], for a broader view of the events that have caused the current conflict
*[[Bibliography of the Darfur conflict]], for all external links to news coverage, advocacy initiatives and research on the conflict
*[[International response to the Darfur conflict]], for the response of individuals to the conflict since 2003
*[[Chad-Sudan conflict]]
* [[African Union Mission in Sudan]]
* [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1706]]
* [[Central African War]]

==Notes==
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==Bibliography and external links==
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{{main|Bibliography of the Darfur conflict}}

{{Chadian-Sudanese conflict}}

[[Category:Darfur conflict| ]]


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