The Darfur Warfare (Political)
Article Title: “Amnesty says Sudan used deadly chemical weapons in Darfur conflict”
September 29, 2016 Author: Briana Duggan Publisher: CNN Place: Darfur, Sudan |
Issue overview and spatial Significance:
The violence in Darfur begins in 2003 when the rebels, Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) first armed themselves up against the government in Khartoum for their historical sufferings and land control rights. The regional conflict has escalated into a war in the of 2008, and the estimated casualty of the war was 300,000 people. 4.4 million inhabitants are lack of basic needs, and more than 2.5 million have been displaced. (Al Jazeera News and News Agencies, 2017) These figures might have been increased since then. The Sudan government has been accused of war crime, genocide and using chemical weapons against the innocent civilians in Darfur. Evidence has shown that the Sudanese government has sent an Arab militia which is called the Janjaweed, which can be loosely translated into “devils on horseback,” to destroy Darfurians by dropping air bombs to the villages, looting economic resources, polluting water resources and torturing villagers. (World Without Genocide, n.d) Recently, the Sudanese government is even condemned for deliberately harming the civilians by using chemical weapons. These attacks may constitute as another war crime. Despite the denial of the government, the international human rights organization, Amnesty International, has found numerous evidence and witnesses about these chemical attacks. Photograph and video evidence were collected and analyzed by professionals, and symptoms consistent with chemical agents such as sulfur mustard-lewisite and nitrogen mustard are identified. There are suspicions that the government has been using chemical weapons since the beginning of the war.
The violence in Darfur begins in 2003 when the rebels, Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) first armed themselves up against the government in Khartoum for their historical sufferings and land control rights. The regional conflict has escalated into a war in the of 2008, and the estimated casualty of the war was 300,000 people. 4.4 million inhabitants are lack of basic needs, and more than 2.5 million have been displaced. (Al Jazeera News and News Agencies, 2017) These figures might have been increased since then. The Sudan government has been accused of war crime, genocide and using chemical weapons against the innocent civilians in Darfur. Evidence has shown that the Sudanese government has sent an Arab militia which is called the Janjaweed, which can be loosely translated into “devils on horseback,” to destroy Darfurians by dropping air bombs to the villages, looting economic resources, polluting water resources and torturing villagers. (World Without Genocide, n.d) Recently, the Sudanese government is even condemned for deliberately harming the civilians by using chemical weapons. These attacks may constitute as another war crime. Despite the denial of the government, the international human rights organization, Amnesty International, has found numerous evidence and witnesses about these chemical attacks. Photograph and video evidence were collected and analyzed by professionals, and symptoms consistent with chemical agents such as sulfur mustard-lewisite and nitrogen mustard are identified. There are suspicions that the government has been using chemical weapons since the beginning of the war.
Patterns and trends:
Armed conflicts mostly happen in Africa and Southwest part of Asia, where the developing countries are. For example. There are still ongoing wars in Afghanistan, Somalia, Kenya, and the most recent one, the Syrian civil war. Like most of the African countries, Sudan gained its independence from Britain in 1956. Soon after that, two civil wars broke out in the country. The second civil war was ended in 2005 by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which granted additional political power to South Sudan. During the war time, famine and armed conflict have caused the death of more than 2 million people, and around 4 million being displaced over two decades. Darfur remained underdeveloped and isolated at a federal level in the post-war period, lacking basic necessities such as clean water course, food, and infrastructure. It was seriously lack of development assistance. Yet, the country has failed to acknowledge the negative impact it has brought to Darfur, and another civil war was sparkled on fire.(World Without Genocide, n.d)
Armed conflicts mostly happen in Africa and Southwest part of Asia, where the developing countries are. For example. There are still ongoing wars in Afghanistan, Somalia, Kenya, and the most recent one, the Syrian civil war. Like most of the African countries, Sudan gained its independence from Britain in 1956. Soon after that, two civil wars broke out in the country. The second civil war was ended in 2005 by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which granted additional political power to South Sudan. During the war time, famine and armed conflict have caused the death of more than 2 million people, and around 4 million being displaced over two decades. Darfur remained underdeveloped and isolated at a federal level in the post-war period, lacking basic necessities such as clean water course, food, and infrastructure. It was seriously lack of development assistance. Yet, the country has failed to acknowledge the negative impact it has brought to Darfur, and another civil war was sparkled on fire.(World Without Genocide, n.d)
Geographic Perspectives and Interrelationships:
Social: The Darfur citizens are angered by the historical neglectance of the government. Their only mean to fight against the rule was to pick up guns and weapons. The outer world was trying to get the news inside the country, yet journalists and humanitarians have been prohibited from entering Darfur’s most populated area, Jebel Marra. The press can barely report news from the region, leaving the citizens extremely vulnerable without international attention.
Political: The armed groups originated in this area filed attack to the government first, and it gave a reason for the government to send armies to Darfur to torture its citizens. There has been peace talks and agreements, but nothing effective has done to end this war. The promises are nothing but papers.
Economic: Oil was discovered in Darfur, and the Sudanese government saw the business fortune of the land. International investors are also attracted to the land, and they want it from the villagers. (World Without Genocide, n.d)
Cultural: The majority of the people in Darfur are non-Arab tribes, they are not satisfied with the rule of the current Arab government who failed to aid development in Darfur. In addition, there are many Muslims and Christians in Darfur.
Social: The Darfur citizens are angered by the historical neglectance of the government. Their only mean to fight against the rule was to pick up guns and weapons. The outer world was trying to get the news inside the country, yet journalists and humanitarians have been prohibited from entering Darfur’s most populated area, Jebel Marra. The press can barely report news from the region, leaving the citizens extremely vulnerable without international attention.
Political: The armed groups originated in this area filed attack to the government first, and it gave a reason for the government to send armies to Darfur to torture its citizens. There has been peace talks and agreements, but nothing effective has done to end this war. The promises are nothing but papers.
Economic: Oil was discovered in Darfur, and the Sudanese government saw the business fortune of the land. International investors are also attracted to the land, and they want it from the villagers. (World Without Genocide, n.d)
Cultural: The majority of the people in Darfur are non-Arab tribes, they are not satisfied with the rule of the current Arab government who failed to aid development in Darfur. In addition, there are many Muslims and Christians in Darfur.
Key Stakeholders:
The government of Darfur – Sudanese government never admitted the accused of using chemical weapons. Sudan is bounded by Chemical Weapons Convention since 1999, and the government agreed never to use toxic arms. (Al Jazeera News and News Agencies, 2017) They called the accusation “rumors” from nowhere, and claimed that "The whole Darfur is quite in peace." They describe their actions as a reasonable defense for the citizens, and they emphasized the need to protect civilians. In fact, it was the government led armies who were hurting the people in Darfur. The government now is struggling to control the rural area from the rebels.
The Darfur civilians - The people of Darfur are suffering from the attacks and the terrible chemical weapons from the government. It seems the government is targeting Darfur as a whole, not just the rebels. They are the most innocent and direct victims of the war. There were witness who have withstand a toxic gas attack. Pictures taken by the humanitarian group has shown children with peeling skin, infected lesions, and large welts.
The United Nations - The United Nations and the African Union has provided a joint force, which is called UNAMID to Darfur since 2007. Little has been done, and security remains fragile in the land. Supported by Britain, the United Nations has drawn a resolution in 2007, aiming to send up to 26,000 peacekeepers from the security council to try to stop the violence in Darfur. However, China and Russia had opposed the resolution due to their economic partnership with Sudan. (World Without Genocide, n.d) This event has once again shown the fallacious system of veto power.
The International Criminal Court - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was charged of war crimes and genocide related to the Darfur conflict in 2009 and 2010. Arrest Warrants were issued, but the United Nations Security Council has failed to apprehended al-Bashir. (World Without Genocide, n.d) The international criminal still haven’t received his punishment to humanitarian acts to the Darfur people.
The government of Darfur – Sudanese government never admitted the accused of using chemical weapons. Sudan is bounded by Chemical Weapons Convention since 1999, and the government agreed never to use toxic arms. (Al Jazeera News and News Agencies, 2017) They called the accusation “rumors” from nowhere, and claimed that "The whole Darfur is quite in peace." They describe their actions as a reasonable defense for the citizens, and they emphasized the need to protect civilians. In fact, it was the government led armies who were hurting the people in Darfur. The government now is struggling to control the rural area from the rebels.
The Darfur civilians - The people of Darfur are suffering from the attacks and the terrible chemical weapons from the government. It seems the government is targeting Darfur as a whole, not just the rebels. They are the most innocent and direct victims of the war. There were witness who have withstand a toxic gas attack. Pictures taken by the humanitarian group has shown children with peeling skin, infected lesions, and large welts.
The United Nations - The United Nations and the African Union has provided a joint force, which is called UNAMID to Darfur since 2007. Little has been done, and security remains fragile in the land. Supported by Britain, the United Nations has drawn a resolution in 2007, aiming to send up to 26,000 peacekeepers from the security council to try to stop the violence in Darfur. However, China and Russia had opposed the resolution due to their economic partnership with Sudan. (World Without Genocide, n.d) This event has once again shown the fallacious system of veto power.
The International Criminal Court - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was charged of war crimes and genocide related to the Darfur conflict in 2009 and 2010. Arrest Warrants were issued, but the United Nations Security Council has failed to apprehended al-Bashir. (World Without Genocide, n.d) The international criminal still haven’t received his punishment to humanitarian acts to the Darfur people.
Issue Implications:
Social: Chemical weapons have catastrophic impacts on the civilians. The skin, eyes, lungs, and internal organs can be burned once they are exposed. The victims can be disabled or simply lose their life for these chemicals. The effects of large scale exposure under these chemicals can last for years, and there are no cure for mustard agent injury. Panicks can unrest are rumbling in the villages as the people strive to survive. The situation cannot be any worse. The Darfur citizens desperately need humanitarian aids from the outside world.
Economic: The conflict has caused serious economic damage to the poor villages. They are living under poverty for years already, and they are not making any money to survive now. The armed conflict has destroyed their farmlands and home.
Environmental: Some chemical residues will release radiation that will pollute the land, and make them non-arable. These harmful substances may go from the plants to humans as well.
Political: The war in Sudan has generated hundred of thousands refugees who wish to seek safety to its neighboring countries, Chad and the Central African Republic. It has created tension against these countries. (World Without Genocide, n.d)
Cultural: The cultural disparity between the Arabs and the non-Arabs are widening, as the ruling party fails to acknowledge the importance of other ethnicity.
Social: Chemical weapons have catastrophic impacts on the civilians. The skin, eyes, lungs, and internal organs can be burned once they are exposed. The victims can be disabled or simply lose their life for these chemicals. The effects of large scale exposure under these chemicals can last for years, and there are no cure for mustard agent injury. Panicks can unrest are rumbling in the villages as the people strive to survive. The situation cannot be any worse. The Darfur citizens desperately need humanitarian aids from the outside world.
Economic: The conflict has caused serious economic damage to the poor villages. They are living under poverty for years already, and they are not making any money to survive now. The armed conflict has destroyed their farmlands and home.
Environmental: Some chemical residues will release radiation that will pollute the land, and make them non-arable. These harmful substances may go from the plants to humans as well.
Political: The war in Sudan has generated hundred of thousands refugees who wish to seek safety to its neighboring countries, Chad and the Central African Republic. It has created tension against these countries. (World Without Genocide, n.d)
Cultural: The cultural disparity between the Arabs and the non-Arabs are widening, as the ruling party fails to acknowledge the importance of other ethnicity.
Citations:
Al Jazeera News and News Agencies (September 29, 2017) “Sudan accused of chemical weapons attacks in Darfur” Aljazeera. Retrieved January 14, 2017 from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/09/amnesty-sudan-carried-chemical-attacks-darfur-160929043759049.html
World Without Genocide (n.d) “Darfur Genocide” Retrieved January 14, 2017 from http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/darfur-genocide
Al Jazeera News and News Agencies (September 29, 2017) “Sudan accused of chemical weapons attacks in Darfur” Aljazeera. Retrieved January 14, 2017 from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/09/amnesty-sudan-carried-chemical-attacks-darfur-160929043759049.html
World Without Genocide (n.d) “Darfur Genocide” Retrieved January 14, 2017 from http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/darfur-genocide