The Darfur conflict and genocide in Sudan
- Date
- From February 2003 (Darfur conflict)
- Category
- Military & conflict
- Region
- Sudan
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
From February 2003, rebel groups in Sudan's western Darfur region — chiefly the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement — took up arms against the Khartoum government, citing political and economic marginalisation.
The government responded with a brutal counterinsurgency, arming and unleashing Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, who carried out mass killings, systematic rape, and the burning of villages, predominantly targeting non-Arab communities. Between 2003 and 2005 an estimated 200,000 or more civilians died from violence, disease and starvation, and roughly two million people were displaced, many into camps in neighbouring Chad. In 2004 US Secretary of State Colin Powell described the campaign as genocide, and in 2009 the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir — the first the court had sought against a sitting head of state. Darfur became a defining humanitarian cause of the 2000s and a major test of the international community's stated 'responsibility to protect'. The Janjaweed's successor, the Rapid Support Forces, would later drive Sudan's catastrophic 2023 civil war.
One piece of history in your inbox, weekly
New empires, events and features as they land — one good email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Related military & conflict events
- The September 11 attacks11 September 2001
- The Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi7 April – 19 July 1994
- Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine24 February 2022
- The 7 October Hamas attack and the Israel–Gaza war7 October 2023
- Fall of Saigon and reunification of Vietnam30 April 1975 (reunified 1976)
- Khmer Rouge Seize Cambodia and Declare Year Zero1975
Also relevant
Further reading
The wider story
The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence
Gripping account of Africa's nations from independence to the present.
Get it on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.