Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. Dār is an Arabic word meaning "home of" – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju people, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. Darfur was an independent sultanate for several hundred years until 1874, when it fell to the Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr. The region was later invaded and incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916.[Richard Cockett Sudan: Darfur and the failure of an African state. 2010. Hobbs the Printers Ltd., Totten, Hampshire. ]
As an administrative region, Darfur is divided into five federal states: Central Darfur, East Darfur, North Darfur, South Darfur and West Darfur. Because of the War in Darfur between Sudanese government forces and the indigenous population, the region has been in a state of humanitarian emergency and Darfur genocide since 2003. The factors include religious and ethnic rivalry, and the rivalry between farmers and herders.[Veronika Danielová, "Darfur Crisis of 2003: Analysis of the Darfur Conflict from the Times of First Clashes to the Present Day." Ethnologia Actualis 1.14 (2014): 37-59.]
Geography
Darfur covers an area of ,
approximately the size of mainland
Spain.
It is largely a semi-desert plateau with the
Marrah Mountains ( Marra), a range of volcanic peaks rising up to of elevation above sea level, and a topographic prominence of 2512 m,
in the center of the region. The region's main towns are
Al Fashir,
Geneina, and Nyala.
There are four main features of its physical geography. The whole eastern half of Darfur is covered with and low of Sand, known as , and sandstone hills. In many places the goz is waterless and can only be inhabited where there are water reservoirs or deep . While dry, goz may also support rich pasture and arable land. To the north the goz is overtaken by the desert sands of the Sahara. A second feature are the , which range from seasonal watercourses that flood only occasionally during the wet season to large wadis that flood for most of the rains and flow from western Darfur hundreds of kilometres west to Lake Chad. Many wadis have pans of alluvium with rich heavy soil that are also difficult to cultivate. Western Darfur is dominated by the third feature, basement rock, sometimes covered with a thin layer of sandy soil. Basement rock is too infertile to be farmed, but provides sporadic forest cover that can be grazed by animals. The fourth and final feature are the Marrah Mountains and Daju people, volcanic plugs created by a massif, that rise up to a peak at Deriba crater where there is a small area of temperate climate, high rainfall and permanent springs of water.
Remote sensing has detected the imprint of a vast underground lake under Darfur. The potential water deposits are estimated at . The lake, during epochs when the region was more humid, would have contained about of water.[Tanzina Vega, "Underground lake may bring Darfur peace: scientist", Reuters, July 18, 2007] It may have dried up thousands of years ago.[ Ancient Darfur lake 'is dried up', BBC, July 20, 2007]
History
The first historical mention of the word
Fur occurs in 1664 in the account by J. M. Vansleb, a German traveler, of a visit to Egypt.
[Petermann (1862–3). Mitteilungen, Erganzungsband II)] It is claimed that, like
sūdān,
fūr means "blacks", and was the name given by the arriving Arab sultans within Darfur to the original inhabitants of the country such as the Binga, Banda, etc. As the historic dynasty's physical appearance became more "Africanized" from intermarriage with black wives and concubines, the appearance of the sultans darkened correspondingly and they became known by the appellation of their subjects,
Fūr.
[Arkell, A.J. (1955). A history of the Sudan from the earliest times to 1821. London: University of London the Athlone Press, p. 214] Most of the region consists of a semi-arid plain and thus appears unsuitable for developing a large and complex
civilization. But the
Marrah Mountains offer plentiful water, and by the 12th century the
Daju people, succeeding the semi-legendary Tora culture, created the first historical attestable
Daju kingdom. They were centered in the
Marrah Mountains and left records of valuable rock engravings, stone architecture and a (
Oral tradition) list of kings. The
Tunjur replaced the Daju in the fourteenth century and the Daju established new headquarters in Abyei, Denga, Darsila and Mongo in the current Chad. The Tunjur
intermarried with the
Fur people and sultan Musa Sulayman (reigned ) is considered the founder of the
Keira dynasty. Darfur became a great power of the
Sahel under the Keira dynasty, expanding its borders as far east as the
Atbarah River and attracting
from
Bornu Empire and Bagirmi. During the mid-18th century conflict between rival factions wracked the country, and external war pitted Darfur against Sennar and
Ouaddai Kingdom. In 1875, the weakened kingdom was destroyed by the
ruler set up in
Khartoum,
largely through the machinations of
Sebehr Rahma, a slave-trader, who was competing with the dar over access to
ivory in Bahr el Ghazal to the south of Darfur.
The Darfuris were restive under Egypt Eyalet rule, but were no more predisposed to accept the rule of the self-proclaimed Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad, when in 1882 his Emir of Darfur, who came from the Southern Darfur Arab Rizeigat tribe led by Sheikh Madibbo, defeated the Ottoman Empire forces led by Slatin Pasha (that had just invaded Egypt earlier that year) in Darfur. When Ahmad's successor, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, himself an Arab of Southern Darfur from the Ta'isha tribe, demanded that the pastoralist tribes provide soldiers, several tribes rose up in revolt. Following the defeat of Abdallahi at Omdurman in 1899 by an Anglo-Egyptian expeditionary force, the new Anglo-Egyptian government recognized Ali Dinar as the sultan of Darfur and largely left the Dar to its own affairs except for a nominal annual tribute.
In 1916, after the British government suspected that the sultan was falling under the influence of the Sublime Porte, an expedition was launched from Egypt to capture and annex Darfur into the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The colonial government directed financial and administrative resources to the tribes of central Sudan near Khartoum - while the outlying regions such as Darfur remained mostly forgotten and ignored.
Under Sudanese rule
A pattern of skewed economic development continued after Sudan achieved political independence in 1956. The governor at the time of independence was Ali Abdallah Abu Sinn, who had joined the civil service in 1923 and served in Darfur since 1946. In August 1958, he was succeeded by Ahmad Makki Abdo, who remained in power despite the coup d'état of that year, until he was finally dismissed in December 1959 and replaced by al-Tijani Sa'd.
The proxy wars between
Sudan,
Libya and
Chad added an element of political instability.
[Roland Marchal, "Chad/Darfur: how two crises merge." Review of African Political Economy 33.109 (2006): 467-482. online] Darfurians began to respond to the ideology of Arab supremacy propagated by Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi (in power 1969–2011). A famine in the mid-1980s disrupted many societal structures and led to the first significant modern fighting amongst Darfuris. A low-level conflict continued for the next fifteen years, with the government co-opting and arming Arab
Janjaweed militias against its enemies.
The fighting reached a peak in 2003 with the beginning of the
Darfur conflict, in which the resistance coalesced into a roughly cohesive rebel movement. In March 2004, human-rights groups and the UN
[ Un.org] came to regard the conflict as one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.
Insurgency and counter-insurgency have led to 480,000 deaths (the
Khartoum government disputes the numbers). This has been labeled as the
Darfur genocide.
"By 2010 about 300,000 had died, according to the UN best estimate, and about 3,000,000 were forced into refugee camps."
[Richard Cockett Sudan: Darfur and the failure of an African state. 2010. p, 191. Hobbs the Printers Ltd., Totten, Hampshire. ] Over 2.8 million people have become displaced since 2003, many of whom were children (see Lost Boys of Sudan). Many of these refugees have gone into camps where emergency aid has created conditions that, although extremely basic, are better than in the villages, which offer no protection against the various militias that operate in the region.
Nearly two-thirds of the population continues to struggle to survive in remote villages. Virtually no foreigners visit the region because of the fear of kidnapping, and only some non-governmental organizations continue to provide long-term grass-roots assistance. the United Nations is in discussion with the Government of Sudan over the withdrawal of UNAMID, the peacekeeping force, which is the largest in the world.[ Un.org] Other UN agencies (such as the WFP) might exit.[Brendan Bromwich, and Margie Buchanan-Smith. "Preparing for peace: An analysis of Darfur, Sudan." in Carl Bruch, Carroll Muffett, and Sandra S. Nichols, eds. Governance, Natural Resources and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding (Routledge, 2016). 183-206.]
During the existence of the Calais Jungle refugee camp, Darfur was listed as a major source of the camp's inhabitants.
Peace process
Darfur Peace Agreement (also known as Abuja Agreement)
The Government of Sudan and the Sudan Liberation Movement of
Minni Minnawi signed a Darfur Peace Agreement in 2006. Only one rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement, subscribed to the agreement; the Justice and Equality Movement rejected it, resulting in a continuation of the conflict. The agreement includes provisions for wealth-sharing and power-sharing and established a Transitional Darfur Regional Authority to help administer Darfur until a referendum could take place on the future of the region. The leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement, Minni Minnawi, was appointed Senior Assistant to the President of Sudan and Chairman of the transitional authority in 2007.
Doha Agreement
In December 2010, representatives of the Liberation and Justice Movement, an umbrella organisation of ten rebel groups, formed in February of that year,
[
]
started a fresh round of talks with the Sudanese Government in
Doha,
Qatar. A new rebel group, the Sudanese Alliance Resistance Forces in Darfur, was formed and the Justice and Equality Movement planned further talks.
[
] The talks ended on December 19 without a new peace agreement, but participants agreed on basic principles, including a regional authority and a referendum on autonomy for Darfur. The possibility of a Darfuri Vice-President was also discussed.
[
]
In January 2011, the leader of the Liberation and Justice Movement, Dr. Tijani Sese, stated that the movement had accepted the core proposals of the Darfur peace document proposed by the joint-mediators in Doha; the proposals included a $300,000,000 compensation package for victims of atrocities in Darfur and special courts to conduct trials of persons accused of human-rights violations. Proposals for a new Darfur Regional Authority were also included; this authority would have an executive council of 18 ministers and would remain in place for five years. The current three Darfur states and state governments would also continue to exist during this period.[
] In February 2011 the Sudanese Government rejected the idea of a single region headed by a vice-president from the region.
On 29 January, the leaders of the Liberation and Justice Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement issued a joint statement affirming their commitment to the Doha negotiations and agreement to attend the Doha forum on 5 February. The Sudanese government had not yet agreed to attend the forum on that date and instead favoured an internal peace process without the involvement of rebel groups.[
]
At the Doha Peace Forum in June, the Joint Mediators proposed a new Darfur Peace Agreement, which would supersede the Abuja Agreement of 2005 and if signed, would halt preparations for a Darfur status referendum.[
]
The proposal included provisions for a Darfuri Vice-President and an administrative structure that includes both the three states and a strategic regional authority, the Darfur Regional Authority, to oversee Darfur as a whole.
2020 peace agreement (Juba Agreement)
The Juba Agreement was signed on 31 August 2020 in
Juba, South Sudan, between the Sudanese authorities and rebel factions to end armed hostilities.
However, further tribal clashes had continued during 2021.
Sudanese Civil War (2023-Present)
During the Sudanese Civil War, there has been considerable fighting in the Darfur region. This includes the Masalit Massacres perpetuated by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), causing some analysts to declare a genocide in Sudan.
Languages
Languages of Darfur include
Daju languages,
Erenga (or
Sungor language),
Fongoro language,
Fulbe (or Fulfulde),
Fur language (thus the name of the region),
Masalit language,
Sinyar language,
Tama language,
Midob language, and
Zaghawa language.
The following languages are spoken in Darfur according to Ethnologue.[ Languages of Sudan. Ethnologue, 22nd edition.]
Government
Regional governance
The Darfur Peace Agreement of 2006 established a Transitional Darfur Regional Authority as an interim authority for the region.
The agreement stated that a referendum on the status of Darfur should be held no later than 2011.
was the first chair of this authority, holding that office from April 2007 until December 2010, when he was succeeded by Shartai Jaafar Abdel Hakam. The peace agreement that was signed in July 2011 saw the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority reconstituted as the Darfur Regional Authority with executive and legislative functions. The chairperson of the Darfur Regional Authority,
Tijani Sese, assumed the post on 20 September 2011. The regional authority was dissolved in July 2016 following a referendum, on the status of the Darfur region within Sudan.
As part of the Sudanese transition to democracy, a Darfur Regional Government was re-established in August 2021 with
Minni Minawi as Regional Governor.
States
The Darfur region is divided into five federal states:
Central Darfur,
East Darfur,
North Darfur,
South Darfur and
West Darfur.
Demographics and economy
In 2008, Darfur's population was 7.5 million.
This in an increase by nearly six times from 1973 (1.3 million).
52% are aged 16 years or younger.
Darfur's budget was US$286 million in 2008.
See also
Bibliography
-
Arkell, A. J., "A History of Darfur. Part II: The Tunjur etc", Sudan Notes and Records, 32, 2 (1951), 207–238.
-
Asher, M.J.,"In Search of the Forty Days Road" Penguin. 1984
-
Daly, M.W., Darfur's Sorrow: A History of Destruction and Genocide, Cambridge 2010.
-
Elliesie, Hatem, "Sudan under the Constraints of (International) Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law: The Case of Darfur", in Hatem Elliesie (ed.), Islam and Human Rights / al-islam wa-huquq al-insan, Frankfurt, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Vienna 2010, pp. 193–217
-
Elliesie, Hatem et al., "Different Approaches to Genocide Trials under National Jurisdiction on the African Continent: The Rwandan, Ethiopian and Sudanese Cases", in Recht in Afrika, Cologne 2009, 12/1, pp. 21–67.
-
Foerstel, K. "Crisis in Darfur" CQ Global Researcher (2008). 2, 243-270. online
-
Herr, Alexis, Darfur Genocide: The Essential Reference Guide (2020) excerpt
-
Johnson, Douglas H. The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars (Indiana UP, 2003), ISBN 0-253-21584-6
-
Kiernan, Ben. Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur (2009) excerpt
-
O'Fahey, R. S., The Darfur Sultanate: A History, London 2008.
-
Young, Osman, Abusin, Asher, Egemi "Livelihoods, Power, and Choice: The Vulnerability of the Northern Rizaygat, Darfur, Sudan" Feinstein Centre for Marginalized Peoples. Tufts University January 2009
External links
