The endless war in Darfur

The recent announcement of ceasefire by the Sudanese government has failed to bring about peace in the ravaged region

On November 12 this year, Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir offered a ceasefire and promised to disarm militias, in a move to end the nearly 6-year-old Darfur conflict. He announced his “agreement to an immediate, unconditional ceasefire between the armed forces and the warring factions, provided that an effective monitoring mechanism be put into action and be observed by all involved parties.”

This came in the wake of charges filed by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo, seeking Al-Bashir’s arrest. Ocampo filed 10 charges – three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder and accused Al-Bashir of masterminding a campaign to get rid of the African tribes in Darfur. Thus, the conciliatory move by Al-Bashir was aimed evading a seemingly imminent arrest warrant, to be issued by the ICC. The ICC has already issued arrest warrants against Ahmed Harun, minister of humanitarian affairs, and janjaweed commander Ali Kushayb, for crimes in Darfur.

The Darfur conflict started in February 2003 and has rapidly developed into one of the most violent military confrontations on the African continent. In the last five years, 300,000 people have been killed, more than 2 million displaced and about 120,000 have fled into neighbouring Chad. The conflict is basically between African insurgents and the government-backed Arab militias.

There are two major rebel forces fighting against the government in Khartoum. One is the politically moderate Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), based mostly on the Fur and Masaleet tribes. The other is the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), based mostly on the Zaghawa tribe and with radical Islamist connections. It is linked with the radical Popular Patriotic Congress led by the veteran Islamist Hassan al-Turabi, who was formerly aligned with the NIF, which came to power in 1989.

The two rebel forces, who claim to be collaborating militarily, have been fighting the Sudanese army forces and the government-backed militia, the Janjaweed. The Janjaweed has conducted an ethnic cleansing campaign in rebel villages throughout the region, destroying nearly 2,700 villages. Sheik Suleiman, a civil community representative, told the Guardian in an interview on 24 November 2008, “I saw the killing with my own eyes. I saw the Janjaweed chain men up, make them kneel on the ground and then shoot them – 150 of them.”

Mass rape is another tactic employed by the Janjaweed to assert its domination within a region. Business Daily Africa quoted a victim saying, “They rape women in front of their mothers and fathers. Maybe around 20 men rape one woman. These things are normal for us in Darfur.” The first step in any lasting solution for peace lies in the disarming and dissolution of the Janjaweed militia, which has been an unwavering demand of the rebel groups. President Omar al-Bashir said the recent ceasefire will include steps to disarm the Janjaweed.

The United States has imposed economic sanctions and asked for support for an international arms embargo to end what President George W Bush called “genocide” in Darfur. Washington has regularly denounced Khartoum for its role in the conflict and lent verbal support to human rights campaigners.

Yet, little has been done by way of direct action. Since September 11, Sudan began increasing its sharing of ‘counterterror’ intelligence with the U.S. The U.S. State Department praised Khartoum for taking “significant steps to cooperate in the war on terrorism.” In 2001, the Bush administration rejected the Sudan Peace Act, which would have financed support for anti-Khartoum forces. Instead, it signed a toothless, watered-down version the next year.

In 2007, a U.S. administration spokesperson said, “The United States will maintain its strong support for countries on the front lines in the war on terrorism, especially Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan.” In 2008, the U.S. publicly announced its offer to normalize relations with Khartoum, fuelled by a desire to gain a foothold in Sudan’s booming oil industry.

Oil is the reason why China has sprung to the defence of the Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, expressing “grave concern” at the ICC’s moves to arrest him. 70 per cent of Sudan’s oil is exported to China, which gets one-third of its oil imports from Africa. In a reaction to these policies, five Chinese workers, employees of the China National Petroleum Corporation, were kidnapped and killed, suspected to be the handiwork of Darfur rebel groups. China has financed close to $1.3 billion of infrastructure projects in Sudan, it remains the biggest supplier of weapons to the Sudanese government.

China looks at Africa strategically as a continent that has resources that it needs to drive its economy forward. Trade between China and Africa will grow to $100 billion this year. China broke ground on a $120 million headquarters for the African Union, the chief organization of African nations this month. Wu Bangguo, one of China’s top leaders, called the gift “another example of the growing friendship between China and Africa.”

The International Crisis Group correctly summarizes the operative factors behind international policy in relation to the conflict, “The sad reality is that Darfur simply does not matter enough, and Sudan matters too much, for the international community to do more to stop the atrocities.”

Meanwhile, claims of peace after the ceasefire by the Sudanese government have been contradicted. On December 2, 15 human right organisations, including Human Rights Watch and Save Darfur Coalition, said in a report that continued attacks on civilians showed the emptiness of Khartoum’s promises for the ravaged region. The 22 page report, titled “Rhetoric vs. Reality: The Situation in Darfur,” documents the lack of progress in Darfur in recent months regarding security, the humanitarian situation, the deployment of peacekeepers, and domestic justice. “The situation in Darfur is far from what the world would define as ‘normal’,” said Julia Fromholz, director of the Crimes Against Humanity Program at Human Rights First. “Millions of people are living under daily threat of violence and are dependent on humanitarian aid that is hindered or entirely blocked by ongoing insecurity and endless bureaucratic hurdles.”

The report describes the ongoing insecurity in Darfur. Even in November, following the government’s declaration of a “unilateral, unconditional ceasefire,” the Sudanese army continued to bomb villages in North and West Darfur. “Once again, the Sudanese government is talking peace with diplomats and journalists while waging war in Darfur,” said Save Darfur Coalition President Jerry Fowler. “And once again, civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence.”

UN’s top humanitarian official admitted that Darfur was getting more dangerous. “The longer this conflict goes on, the more dangerous it becomes in terms of the ability to return to normality as it was before,” John Holmes, UN emergency relief coordinator, told a news conference after a six-day visit to Sudan.

UN officials estimate that up to 4.7 million people receive aid in the world’s biggest humanitarian relief operation, set to cost one billion dollars in 2009. UN officials say security in Darfur has worsened considerably in 2008, with 11 humanitarian workers killed, 172 assaults on humanitarian premises, 261 vehicles hijacked and 170 staff temporarily abducted so far this year.

The United Nations/African Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID) remains at less than 50 percent of its mandated strength and has repeatedly come under attack. The Sudanese government has once again recommitted to fulfilling its obligations to facilitate the force, but these commitments have yet to be tested. At a local level, government forces and authorities consistently hamper the ability of the force to protect civilians, through obstruction, bureaucracy, and even violent attacks.

Sudanese authorities have also announced a series of steps ostensibly designed to improve domestic justice for crimes in Darfur, including a new prosecutor for Darfur.  However, to date the prosecutor has only considered three cases, and no fresh prosecutions in relation to major atrocities have begun.

“Above all what we need to see in Darfur is a rapid political progress, a rapid political settlement… only that will enable the kind of progress we want to make in terms of development in Darfur,” Holmes, the UN emergency relief coordinator, said.

This piece appeared in the op-ed section of The Word, the paper at the Asian College of Journalism.