Names, facts and terms:

– Conflict is occurring in western Sudan in the region of Darfur

The Janjawid: bands of Arab rebels supported by the Sudanese

government. Name translates to “devils on horseback”

Ethnic cleansing: the deliberate displacement of ethnic groups

Khartoum: the capital of Sudan

Fur, Zaghawa and Massaleit: three ethnic groups, which are

supposedly the main targets of genocide in Sudan

Omar al-Bashir: authoritarian president of Sudan; cooperates

with and supports Janjaweed forces

IDP: Internally Displaced Person: someone who has been forced

to leave his or her home but has not crossed an international

border (different from a refugee, who has crossed a border)

African Union: organization made up of almost every African

country, currently serves as only peacekeeping force approved by

al-Bashir; comprised of about 7,000 troops across Darfur

-70 percent of Sudanese are Muslim

-In May 2006, only the SLA signed a peace agreement with the

Sudanese government that called for the disarmament of the

Janjawid. However, the conflict still continues

Conflict breakdown:

-Two rebel groups, the Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement

(SLA/M) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) oppose

the Sudanese government and the Janjawid militia group

-The people of Darfur are fleeing attacks from the Janjawid

(Arab Darfurians) who are deliberately displacing, killing,

torturing and incarcerating African Darfurians in an attempt to

ethnically cleanse the region

Numbers

(estimates as of Feb. 20 – conflict began in 2003)

-According to the Sudanese government, 9,000 people have

been killed

-According to the United Nations, at least 400,000 people

have been killed

-There are more than 2 million IDPs in the region

-There are more than 3.5 million people in the region who survive

solely on international aid from organizations like Amnesty Inter-

national

News

On Feb. 16, Omar al-Bashir rejected the suggestion of a

combined U.N. and A.U. peacekeeping force in Darfur