Conflict in Darfur
A Modern-Day Genocide Unfolds in the Sudanese Desert
The Humanitarian Crisis Continues
Ethnicity. Oil. Water. Starved by decades of fighting over water and oil, marginalized ethnic groups in the Darfur region of Sudan revolted in 2003 against their government and were met with a brutal military response. Up to 300,000 have died as a result of conflict.
Campaign of Terror To subdue the rebels, the Sudanese government gave $55 million in Chinese weapons to Arab-Muslim paramilitary forces, which burned villages, killed civilians, and employed systematic rape as a means of ethnic cleansing.
Aid Under Fire The violence displaced 2.7 million people and brought about the world’s largest humanitarian effort—until March 2009, when the government expelled 40% of aid workers in the country.
