An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir April 2017 www.dfmagazine.ie 20 | by PAUL O'BRIEN MA H undreds of pick-up trucks, or 'technicals' as they are known, armed with an array of weaponry move rapidly through the scarred landscape of Darfur. burning build- ings, scorched earth and death are left in their wake, as groups such as the Justice Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) launch lightning attacks against government forces in the region that have left, according to Un estimates, 2.5 million people internally displaced and 1.2 million food-insecure residents. the death toll of this conflict has been incalculable but hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, as this little-known war has escalated. Darfur, a region in western Sudan, covers an area of 493,180 sq kms, comparable in size to France. It derives its name from the predominant Fur tribe, one of the indigenous groups that reside in the vast expanses of western Sudan. It is divided into five federal states, Central Darfur, East Darfur, North Darfur, South Darfur and West Darfur. The land consists of an arid plateau with the volcanic peaks of the Marrah mountain range the most dominating feature, rising up to 3,042m. Darfur's population is estimated at seven-and-a-half million and it has two main cities, Al Fashir and Nyala. Because of years of war, arable farmland re- mains unused, vast mineral resources are untapped and pastures are laid waste. Arab domination in Sudan was established in 1821 when Muhammad Ali Pasha, ruler of Egypt, invaded. Despite a number of insurrections in the 19th century, Egypt, with the support of Britain, maintained control over Sudan. In 1916, concerned by the threat from the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the British government invaded Darfur and incorporated it into the Anglo- Egyptian Sudan. Colonial rule centred on Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, with those in that area benefiting from the financial and administrative control of the British. However, this was to the detriment of those in outlying regions such as Darfur. Sudan received its independence in 1956 when the British- Egyptian Condominium was peacefully dissolved, and, like other countries gaining independence at that time, began a rapid descent into civil war. In 1972 this conflict ended with the estab- lishment of the Southern Sudan autonomous region but eleven years later, in 1983, the war resumed when Jaafar Nimeiri forced Sharia Law on non-Muslim tribes in the country. Once again the country was plunged into a bloody conflict as Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi permitted Arab militias to rampage through Dar- fur. Amid the violence, a drought destroyed agricultural produc- tion, impoverishing millions, and bringing the population to the point of annihilation. In 1989, what had become known as the Second Civil War came to an end with the signing of a treaty. However, this lull was short lived when a coup brought to power Field Marshall Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, an experienced officer who had previously served with the elite Armoured Parachute Regiment in numerous campaigns. On seizing power, al-Bashir established the National Islamic Front. This was the beginning of decades of a brutal dictator- ship that would bring international condemnation and accusa- tions of war crimes against President al-Bashir. Government jobs, grants and subsidies were distributed unfairly, favouring those who supported the president and deepening religious and A machinegun-mounted truck manned by members of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) drive past burning businesses and homesteads in the center of Abyei, central Sudan

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