US feigns interest in resolving turmoil in the Sudan
Grave anarchy in Darfur

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

There are two main groups in Darfur challenging the Sudanese government�the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

The SLA opposes the Sudanese government's discrimination and oppression of Darfurians and its bias towards the Arab minority population in the Sudan. There have been long-standing tensions in Darfur due to land disputes between the Arab nomads and Black farmers in the region.

In April 2003, the SLA and JEM assaulted a number of government installations in Darfur. Because of the huge embarrassment wrought by the rebel attacks on the government of Pres. Omar al-Bashir, the latter launched retaliatory actions.

Instead of attacking the SLA and the JEM, however, the government has been attacking the people of Darfur. The al-Bashir regime conducts air strikes in the area and has mobilized an Arab militia group called the Janjaweed.

The Janjaweed are notorious for carrying out a scorched earth policy. They kill the men, rape the women, steal their belongings and burn down entire settlements.

Estimates put the number of people killed to up to 50,000. Meanwhile, up to two million Darfurians out of a population of approximately six million have evacuated their homes, with about 125,000 fleeing to the neighboring country of Chad.

The refugees suffer from severe shortages of food, water and medicine. At present, 20% of child refugees are malnourished. Many of them have died because of it, with others dying due to other illnesses such as diarrhea.

Even around the refugee camps where Darfurians have fled, Janjaweed militia members lie in stalk, killing the men and raping the women who stray far to fetch water or search for firewood.

The al-Bashir government has, in the past several weeks, been accepting Janjaweed elements into the paramilitary Popular Defense Force (PDF) and the police instead of disbanding the militia. The PDF has likewise been wreaking havoc on the people of Darfur.

21 August 2004
English Edition

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