Darfur genocide

The genocide, which was carried out against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, led the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict several people for crimes against humanity, rape, forced transfer and torture.

The first was a civil war that occurred between the Khartoum national governments and two rebel groups in Darfur: the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army.

[3] In April 2003, when the rebel groups attacked the military airfield and kidnapped an air force general, the government launched a counterattack.

[4][page needed] A second factor was a civil war that occurred between the Christians, the animist Black Southerners, and the Arab-dominated government since Sudan's independence from the United Kingdom in 1956.

[4][page needed] Sudanese commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Janjaweed leader Hemedti were among the perpetrators of the genocide in Darfur.

[6] In 2013, the United Nations (UN) estimated that up to 300,000 people had been killed during the genocide; in response, the Sudanese government claimed that the number of deaths was "grossly inflated".

An administrator from the United States Agency for International Development giving testimony to congress mentioned ethnic cleansing and the "population clearance" which was occurring in Darfur.

The executive director of the African branch of HRW, Peter Takirambudde, stated: "There can be no doubt about the Sudanese government's culpability in crimes against humanity in Darfur".

Sudan's acceptance of the African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur derived from intensive negotiations by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and several actors in the international community.

[19] Yet, with the limited resources and hostile environment, the troops still manage to provide protection to the locals in Darfur and assist the progress of the humanitarian aid operation.

UNAMID contributes to promote peace, address the critical roots of the conflict and help end the violence considering "the mission carries out more than 100 patrols daily".

The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed states: "We have invested $16 billion in peacekeeping alone over the past ten years, in addition to humanitarian funding and bilateral aid to alleviate the suffering of the population.

The project was titled Crisis in Darfur and is run by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in partnership with Google Earth.

"[25]Powell concluded by announcing that at the next UN Security Council Resolution an investigation on all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights will occur in Darfur, Sudan with a view to ensuring accountability.

[27] Nicholas Kristof, writing in the New York Times, has claimed China "is financing, diplomatically protecting and supplying the arms for the first genocide of the 21st century" in Darfur.

Some of the achievements that Lanz attributes to the Save Darfur Coalition, that became extremely popular in the United States, was the change in rhetoric from the government.

[34] In the United States, the Save Darfur movement got the attention of many celebrities, most notably including: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Mia Farrow and Richard Branson.

Farrow and Branson also posted videos[35][non-primary source needed] to YouTube, where they, and others, went on hunger strikes in solidarity to the people in Darfur.

[36] Initially the ICC refused to add the charge of genocide to the indictment for the President of Sudan, Omar Bashir; however, following an appeal this decision was overturned.

[39] As well as Bashir, another six suspects have been indicted by the court, Ahmed Haroun, Ali Kushayb, Bahar Abu Garda, Abdallah Banda, Saleh Jerbo, Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein.

[43] ICC prosecutor Karim Khan confirmed that both Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed war crimes in Darfur, with a focus on past atrocities in El Geneina.

"[45] UNHCR proposed to the UN Secretary-General to "take responsibility for the protection and voluntary return of IDPs to their villages of origin in West Darfur in partnership with other agencies…".

The UN approved of their proposal to govern and create a protective environment in camps, host communities and settlements for the displaced people to a within Darfur.

Interviews and footage of human right activist John Prendergast, Harvard professor Samantha Power and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof are shown to depict the origins and the aftermath of the conflict between the Arab and non-Arab tribes in the Darfur region.

Arab Janjaweed militias have been a major player in the conflict.
Destroyed villages (August 2004)
Darfur Refugee Camps