Understanding the history of the genocide in Darfur is key to coming to grips with Sudan’s current tragic civil war.
This article – resist the temptation to flick through! – helps to get a perspective.
I had a front-row view of what followed in Darfur: mass killings, rapes, burned villages, destroyed food and water supplies, and the displacement of populations, all intended to systematically and permanently destroy an ancient way of life. The rebel leaders contacted me in my UN role, and the intermediaries I sent across the border from Chad brought back graphic video evidence of mass atrocities.
However, this did not affect everyone equally. Only Darfuris of African ethnicity were subjected to cleansing. When I remonstrated with the authorities, the walis (governors) in Nyala and el-Fasher asserted that the zurga and abeed (black slaves) must be eliminated. The task was assigned to the SAF and the Janjaweed, a brutal Arab militia nicknamed “devils on horseback,” reinforced by like-minded kin from Libya and Chad.
Source: Geeska.com
