The Sudan Crisis: Addressing the Humanitarian Emergency in Darfur

Dr. John Bosco Nizeimana, Senior Research Analyst, Leadership & Governance Policy Lab, Africa Center for Strategy and Policy
bnizeimana@africacfsp.org

1.1 Introduction

Sudan has undergone significant upheaval since the ousting of long-standing dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, transitioning briefly to civilian rule before encountering military intervention led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. This paper analyzes the current humanitarian emergency in Darfur, situating it within the historical framework of the 2003 Darfur conflict and subsequent international responses. The pressing humanitarian situation in Darfur underscores the imperative for renewed global attention and unified action to safeguard civilians and address the underlying causes of the ongoing turmoil. Drawing on insights gleaned from past endeavors and informed by lessons learned, stakeholders must prioritize diplomatic engagement, humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping, and peace-building initiatives to foster a sustainable resolution to the crisis. Only through collective commitment and solidarity of the international community can the people of Darfur envision a future liberated from violence and hardship. Employing documentary search analysis and conducting in-depth interviews with key informants, this paper investigates the resurgence of the Darfur crisis stemming from the conflict between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Additionally, it examines the situation, root causes of the Darfur crisis and proposes actionable recommendations to mitigate the ongoing challenges in the Darfur region.

Keywords: War in Sudan, Darfur crisis, humanitarian crisis, international response, roots cause

1.2 A Brief Background

In the aftermath of a popular uprising in 2019 that led to the ousting of long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir, citizens of Sudan and the global community expressed optimism for the country’s future. During a period of peaceful civilian transition rule in 2021, this optimism was tempered when two Army Generals, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (commonly known as Hemedti), collaborated to overthrow the civilian government. The Sudanese Army, under the leadership of General al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary (RSF), commanded by Lieutenant General Hemedti, shared power with civilians in a transitional government setup, ostensibly pledging to return power to civilian hands.¹

However, this arrangement was short-lived. As Sudan was on the brink of transitioning to democratic rule through a Western-negotiated agreement, violent conflict erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces. The conflict stemmed from a disagreement over the integration of the paramilitary forces into the Army. The capital city, Khartoum, bore the brunt of the fighting, with widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, property, and loss of life. The conflict quickly spread to peripheral regions of the country, including Darfur region.²

Since its onset, the clashes have been characterized by egregious human rights violations and war crimes committed by both sides. These atrocities include targeted killings, indiscriminate bombings of hospitals and schools, and widespread instances of rape and other forms of violence against civilians and essential infrastructure. In the context of Darfur, civilian populations are once again enduring a humanitarian emergency, as local groups exploit the situation to target non-Arab farmers, forcibly expelling them from their land, perpetrating violence against them, and displacing them from their homes. The situation on the ground is deeply concerning.³ However, it is crucial to comprehend the historical backdrop of the Darfur crisis to fully grasp the ongoing humanitarian emergency in the region.

1.3 The Darfur Conflict: An Historical Overview

The outbreak of conflicts in 2003 encompassed political, economic, and ethnic dimensions. Economically, it was characterized by competition between pastoralists, predominantly Arab Africans, and agriculturalists, primarily non-Arabs, vying for control over land and water resources. This conflict escalated to target civilians based on their ethnic identities. Political discontent and challenges arising from disputes over land and water resources, compounded by spill-over effects from the war in Chad, precipitated armed clashes in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2003, this discontent culminated in an armed rebellion in Darfur, resulting in widespread human rights abuses.⁴

The conflict in Darfur began in February 2003, when two rebel movements based in Darfur, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), launched attacks against Sudanese government forces to voice their grievances regarding the political marginalization and economic neglect of their region. According to Alex De Waal’s 2003 account, “rebels inflicted significant damage on government forces, destroying half a dozen military aircraft and capturing an army general at an airport in April 2003”. In response, the Sudanese government deployed heavily armed Arab soldiers and local militias, notably the Janjaweed, in a brutal crackdown. Despite several attempts at negotiating ceasefires in late 2003, these efforts proved unproductive, and the Sudanese government intensified its military campaign to quell the rebellion in Darfur. The conflict on the ground was characterized by indiscriminate killings, forced displacement, abductions, and systematic sexual violence against civilian populations. While both sides committed atrocities, the Janjaweed militia was principally blamed for spearheading these crimes.⁵

The estimated death toll in Darfur reached approximately 400,000, although the Sudanese government disputed this figure, claiming only 10,000 casualties, a claim contested by activists, civil society organizations, and international NGOs. Around 2.5 million people were displaced, with 1.2 million forced to flee their homes, including 200,000 who sought refuge in Chad, while the majority resided in local refugee camps within Darfur. Observations by USAID in 2004 suggested that if the crisis remained unchecked, daily casualties could escalate to as many as 2,400 within two months. The situation was widely characterized as a massive campaign of ethnic violence, with African farmers predominantly targeted by the Janjaweed militia, leading some observers to label the situation in Darfur as genocide.⁶

Despite denying any connection to the Janjaweed militia and disputing casualty estimates, the Sudanese government appeared unwilling to halt the crisis on the ground. By the end of 2004, the situation in Darfur posed a grave threat to civilians, leaving them vulnerable to widespread human rights violations, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. In a 2004 speech to the UN Commission on Human Rights, then UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, expressed grave concerns over the Darfur crisis and stressed the urgent need for the immediate action to prevent genocide in Sudan. Under mounting pressure from civil society organizations and a growing international outcry, the international community resolved to act responsibly by applying the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle to protect civilians in Darfur.

The R2P principle, an international norm adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2005, aims to ensure that the international community intervenes to prevent mass atrocity crimes, including genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, when governments prove unable or unwilling to protect their populations.⁷

In 2006, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1706, authorizing the deployment of the United Nations/African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), comprising 26,000 personnel, under the auspices of R2P.⁸

This was followed by Resolution 1769 in 2009, which approved the deployment of approximately 19,555 military personnel and 6,432 police officers, with a budget of approximately $1.5 billion, making UNAMID one of the largest and costliest UN peacekeeping missions in history on Darfur.⁹

Since then, the peacekeeping mission has brought significant improvements to the situation in Darfur.

1.4 The Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur

Nearly two decades have passed since the inception of mass atrocities, including genocide, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing, in the Darfur region. Tragically, similar catastrophes are resurfacing in Darfur today. This section delves into recent incidents and scenarios that vividly illustrate the resurgence of mass atrocities reminiscent of the 2003 conflict in Darfur. Amidst ongoing instability plaguing Sudan as a whole, a troubling resurgence of targeted ethnic violence has emerged, spearheaded by militias deeply entrenched within the same factions responsible for the original atrocities against Darfur civilians.

Despite efforts by the international community to intervene, the crisis continues to escalate, with the conflict intensifying in severity. Since April 2023, it is reported that over 13,000 individuals have lost their lives in clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The UN Panel of Experts on Sudan estimated figures between 10,000 to 15,000 deaths in El Geneina, Darfur.¹⁰ These findings are corroborated by leading scholars in Sudanese politics and Darfur crises, who contends that there is a campaign of mass ethnic cleansing in Western Darfur by the RSF and associated Arab militias, driven by their longstanding agenda to seize control of the fertile lands of western Darfur, traditionally owned by the Massalit people, and redistribute them among their own communities.¹¹ Such assertions underscore the gravity of the mass atrocities unfolding in Darfur.

Amid sporadic pauses in hostilities fostering a resemblance of tranquility in Khartoum and other regions of the country, the conflict in Darfur continued relentlessly. Marauding militias razed an entire village to the ground, exacerbating an already dire situation. Aid agencies like UNHCR have characterized the event as harrowing and issued warnings of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe looming over the Darfur region “Sudan Darfur crisis: ‘Everything civilians can use has been burned or destroyed”.¹²

Furthermore, in interviews conducted by Human Rights Watch in Chad, refugees brought to light a series of harrowing incidents occurring in Darfur, Sudan. These accounts revealed distressing patterns of targeted killings, assaults on civilian areas, unlawful detentions, sexual violence, and widespread looting in the Ardamata region of Darfur. Notably, Mohamed Osman, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, underscored these concerns, suggesting that the recent episodes of ethnically motivated violence by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in West Darfur exhibit signs of systematic atrocities perpetrated against the Massalit people. Osman emphasized the imperative for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to address this urgent humanitarian crisis and take decisive action to protect the vulnerable populations in Darfur.

This report, published by Human Rights Watch on November 26, 2023, sheds light on the alarming escalation of violence and atrocities in Darfur, as documented in Human Rights Watch Report 2023.¹³ The gravity of these incidents underscores the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur, posing severe risks to civilian populations and necessitating immediate intervention to prevent a recurrence of the genocidal atrocities witnessed in the region two decades ago.

These attacks have led to mass displacement, surpassing the pace witnessed during the 2003 Darfur conflict. Testimonies collected by Refugee International in its report on the Sudanese conflict unveil the harrowing realities faced by Darfurians. Refugees fleeing to Chad recount experiences reminiscent of the war crimes and genocide perpetrated two decades ago. Their accounts detail systematic house-to-house searches, village burnings, mass graves, extrajudicial killings, and a disturbing surge in rape cases targeting members of black African tribes.¹⁴

The conflict in Sudan has wrought devastation upon the capital city of Khartoum and various regions across the nation, notably altering the landscape in Darfur by deliberately targeting civilians. The objective has been to displace them, resulting in a significant influx of refugees. Over 2.3 million individuals (about twice the population of New Hampshire) are estimated to have been displaced in Darfur. This phenomenon is primarily attributed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which vast areas of Darfur. The RSF emerged from the Janjaweed Arab militias, which former President Al-Bashir initially mobilized to suppress uprisings in Darfur. Their campaign led to egregious war crimes, crimes against humanity, and allegations of genocide against black African communities. While this conflict is intertwined with the broader Sudanese civil war, its impact on Darfur is distinctive.¹⁵ The RSF’s stronghold lies in Darfur, where it garners significant support in its confrontation with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). A particular concern is the ongoing targeting of black Africans, notably the Massalit people, by the RSF and its allied Arab militias. These actions echo the atrocities witnessed during the 2003 war and the Darfur crisis of the previous decade. The persistence of such practices underscores the urgent need for international attention and intervention. Failure to protect Darfurians from the RSF and its affiliates may precipitate yet another humanitarian catastrophe in the region.

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur indicate continuous challenges faced by the international community in the context of the Sudan fighting between the SAF and RSAF Paramilitary group. This is happening despite two decades having passed since the mass atrocities in Darfur including a genocide, war crimes, and ethnic cleansings.¹⁶ Today the war that began in Khartoum has now plagued Darfur to become a situation of massive human rights violations and instability.

These sections highlighted incidents that indicate the extent to which the situation in Darfur presents troubling resurgence of targeted ethnic violence with RSAF and its allied militias deeply entrenched within factions responsible for past atrocities perpetuating the cycle of conflict. Accounts from refugees and human rights organizations paint a grim picture of ongoing violence. The resurgence of practices reminiscent of past atrocities underscores the urgency for international action to protect vulnerable populations and prevent another humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur. The section below discusses why the situation in Darfur deteriorates.

1.5. The Deterioration of the Situation in Darfur: A Comprehensive Analysis

(i)The withdrawal of UNAMID peacekeepers

The exacerbation of conditions in Darfur can be primarily attributed to the security vacuum resulting from the withdrawal of peacekeeping forces. This withdrawal significantly heightened the vulnerability of civilian populations to various threats. Originally, the UNAMID mission was meant to be prolonged to implement a peace agreement between the government and rebel factions throughout the Darfur region. Such an extension was poised to contribute to stabilizing the precarious environment of Darfur, where safeguarding civilians from human rights violations stood as a paramount objective for the international community.

Abdalla Adam Khalid, Chancellor of Zalingei University in Darfur, aptly observed, “While it was acknowledged that UNAMID’s presence in Darfur was not meant to be permanent, the timing of its withdrawal presents significant challenges.” Indeed, the withdrawal coincided with a period of political turmoil in Sudan, further jeopardizing the safety of Darfur’s vulnerable populace. The absence of peacekeepers created an opportunity for militias and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to exploit their entrenched interests in territorial control, consequently escalating the risks faced by civilians. The ongoing crisis in the region could have been contained had the peacekeepers not been withdrawn. During their deployment, peacekeeping forces effectively maintained order, ensuring the security and protection of civilians.¹⁷ Therefore, the decision to withdraw these forces from Sudan was a grave error, directly contributing to the worsening conditions in Darfur, which have now escalated to the point of being characterized as a genocide.

ii) The Lack of Significant World Attention

The absence of significant global attention on the situation in Darfur has both explicitly and implicitly contributed to its current deterioration. Amidst crises such as the Ukrainian conflict, the Israel-Palestinian crisis, clashes between Western powers and the Houthi movement in the Mediterranean Sea, and the M23 war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the international community’s focus has been diverted.

A notable disparity between the ongoing crisis in Darfur and that of the past two decades lies in the level of global engagement. The initial crisis in 2003 garnered widespread attention, with prominent celebrities organizing protests, fundraising efforts, and even engaging in hunger strikes to underscore the gravity of the situation. This activism drew global attention, prompting interventions from entities such as the United Nations and human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. These bodies condemned the acts of violence occurring in Darfur resulting in deployment of UNAMID peacekeepers through the R2P principle, and instigated investigations by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.

However, today, the world’s focus on Darfur has waned compared to the preceding two decades. Rebecca Hamilton, an associate professor of law at American University in Washington, aptly observed that the; “world has forgotten about Darfur once again,”¹⁸

The lack of international attention towards Darfur has hindered efforts to curb the ongoing aggression by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militia against the people of Darfur. While most efforts to end the conflict have centered on the two main belligerents, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, little significant attention has been directed towards addressing the plight of the people of Darfur directly.

1.6 Reluctance of Military Leader to Safeguard Civilian Populations

The situation in Darfur has notably worsened due to the apparent lack of political will or incapacity of two prominent military leaders to ensure the protection of civilians. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, engaged in a power struggle in Sudan, have failed to prioritize civilian safety in Darfur. Despite their history as former allies, collaborating during the deadly crackdown on Darfur in the 2000s, they are now embroiled in a conflict for military and political dominance, as well as safeguarding their extensive business interests. According to Alex De Waal, an esteemed expert on Sudan and the Darfur crisis, the current scenario resembles a clash between mob bosses vying for control over their lucrative territories.¹⁹

This analysis underscores the disconcerting reality that neither party prioritizes the protection of Darfur’s populace; rather, their focus lies on consolidating military control and preserving their economic interests and alliances. Consequently, the continued deterioration of the situation in Darfur is directly attributed to the absence of genuine commitment from both factions to safeguard the welfare of the civilian population.

1.7. RSF links to the Darfur Region

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) maintain substantive ties to the Darfur region, rooted in the historical lineage of the Janjaweed militia, which notably engaged in the violent suppression of the insurgency within Darfur in 2003. This affiliation exacerbates existing tensions, casting doubt upon the RSF’s ability to safeguard the Massalit black African communities in Darfur, with whom they historically competed for resources, resulting in clashes two decades prior. Formally established in 2013 through the government’s restructuring of Janjaweed factions to combat rebel forces in South Kordofan and the Nile states, the RSF has entrenched itself in Darfur affairs. Implicated in ongoing events, the RSF is accused of aligning with local militias to orchestrate ethnic cleansing campaigns against the non-Arab Massalit populace, particularly evident following the RSF’s seizure of western Darfur on November 4, 2023.²⁰

Alan Boswell, Africa Director for the International Crisis Group, corroborates these allegations, citing “large-scale atrocities in Darfur at the hands of the RSF and affiliated militias.” Enjoying a significant support from Arab communities, the RSF maintains a stronghold in Darfur, driven by its members’ ambitions to appropriate territories inhabited by black communities.²¹ Thus, the dynamics collectively elucidate the underlying causes contributing to the deterioration of the current situation, notably manifesting in the plight faced by black African communities in Darfur, including, widespread human rights violations, significant displacement of populations, and a substantial influx of refugees in the neighboring Chad.

1.8. Recommendations

There is a critical imperative for the supporters of the two fighting factions, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), to cease all forms of support and instead, earnestly advocate for a comprehensive power-sharing agreement to bring an end to the protracted conflict in Sudan. Such actions are necessary to mitigate the escalating humanitarian crisis and prevent further loss of civilian lives within Darfur and the whole country at large.

Furthermore, urgent intervention by the international community, particularly through the United Nations Security Council, is warranted to address the dire situation in Darfur. Both conflicting parties have demonstrated an inability and reluctance to safeguard the population of Darfur, which has previously endured egregious atrocities under the Al Bashir regime. The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine asserts that in cases where a government or relevant authorities fail to protect civilians from widespread human rights violations, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and genocide, the international community bears a responsibility to intervene. Deployment of UN peacekeeping forces should be considered to ensure the protection of civilians, as the failure to do so risks a recurrence of the Darfur crisis witnessed two decades ago.

Moreover, the UN must actively engage in monitoring and documenting human rights abuses in Darfur to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable. These proactive measures are imperative given the potential for further atrocities if timely action is not taken.

Additionally, stakeholders involved in the Darfur conflict, including the African Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Egypt, Russia, the European Union, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, along with other pertinent actors, must collaborate with the UN to enhance efforts aimed at protecting civilians in western Darfur and across the nation. These external allies of the conflicting parties possess the influence to encourage prioritization of civilian protection on the ground, either explicitly or implicitly, and as such, their support is crucial in safeguarding vulnerable populations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Sudan Crisis, particularly the humanitarian emergency in Darfur, remains a poignant and urgent challenge that demands immediate and concerted action from the international community. Situated within the broader context of Sudan’s political upheaval since the ousting of Omar al-Bashir, the resurgence of violence and atrocities in Darfur underscores the imperative for renewed global attention and unified efforts to safeguard civilian lives and address the root causes of the crisis. Drawing from historical perspectives on the 2003 Darfur conflict and subsequent international responses, it is evident that diplomatic engagement, humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping and peacebuilding are paramount in fostering a sustainable resolution. However, despite past interventions such as the deployment of UNAMID, the recent withdrawal of peacekeeping forces has exacerbated the vulnerability of civilian populations in Darfur, especially the black African communities, leaving them exposed to grave risks of massive human rights violence. The current deterioration in Darfur is further compounded by the lack of significant global attention and the apparent reluctance of key military leaders to prioritize civilian safety. The entrenched interests of factions like the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with historical ties to Darfur, perpetuate cycles of violence and ethnic targeting, reminiscent of past atrocities. Considering these challenges, specific recommendations emerge as imperative. First, supporters of conflicting factions must cease all forms of support and advocate earnestly for a comprehensive power-sharing agreement to end the protracted conflict. Additionally, urgent intervention by the international community, guided by the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine, is essential to deploy UN peacekeeping forces and ensure civilian protection. Ultimately, it is through collective commitment, solidarity, and sustained engagement of the international community that the people of Darfur can envision a future liberated from violence and hardship. The urgency of the situation demands immediate action to avert another humanitarian catastrophe and pave the way for a more stable and prosperous Sudan.

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