“The crisis in Darfur is clearly the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today.” – AJWS
Sudan Facts:
– The largest (land area) country in Africa (2,505,810 sq km). More than 1/4 the size of the US.
– Population of 39,148,162 (July 2004)
– Official language is Arabic
– Official religion is Islam
– Military dictatorship since 1958
– Sudan’s name comes from the Arabic “bilad al-sudan”, or land of the blacks.
Conflict:
– Rebel forces: Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA)
– Both rebel groups were formally created in early 2003 in response to the perceived political marginalization and chronic underdevelopment of Darfur, and discrimination and mounting government and militia violence against their communities.
– The conflict began in early 2003 when JEM and SLA rebels attacked government forces and installations.
– Government responded by creating a militia group, Janjaweed.
– The Janjaweed has pursued a systematic policy of ethnic cleansing throughout Darfur, burning down non-Arab villages and driving out their inhabitants.
– Conflict is economically and politically based, not religiously based.
– Darfur’s population is estimated at five or six million. The majority of the population is African. Estimates of the affected range from one to two million, about 12 percent to 33 percent of the population of Darfur.
News:
AllAfrica
Sudan.net
Yahoo Search
Yahoo Full Coverage
Darfur Information Center
Sudan Tribune
Sudan News
Directories:
African Studies Center
Yahoo Sudan
Articles:
Emergency Appeal in Sudan
Darfur Documents Confirm Government Policy of Militia Support
Empty Promises? Continuing Abuses in Darfur, Sudan
Q&A Crisis in Darfur
The Darfur Conflict
How did Darfur happen?
Official:
Sudan Embassy
Al-Ra’y al-Amm (Sudan Newspaper)
Sudan National Broadcasting Corporation (SNBC)
Facts:
Wikipedia
Afrika.no
World Factbook
Darfur conflict
Sudan Country Profile
Maps:
Sudan Closeup
Map of Darfur
Photos:
Darfur in Flames