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Historical Background For Conflict
The Sudan, an autonomous nation since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1956, has been involved in civil strife for the past two decades. A drought in 1983 culminated in a famine that could have been prevented with a government-issued crop warning, and resulted in the death of 95,000 people in the region of Darfur. The ethnic and class divergences between farming-African Sudanese and herding-Arab Sudanese were highlighted nationally at this point. Arab Sudanese, being typically more affluent and politically powerful, were blamed for the absent crop warning. Many felt it was an intentional attack that resulted in deaths of farming Africans. Furthermore, the African's choice to extend farmland in response to the crop losses was construed as a strategic backlash to prevent Arabs from reaching vegetation for their herds. Consequently, Arabs allied with neighboring Libya while African rebel groups formed in defense of these accusations.
At this point, Darfuri rebel troops attacked military outpost and police stations while the government instituted air strikes against civilian populations. Many innocent men, women, and children were killed or horribly disfigured as a result of the indiscriminate bombings that ravaged African Sudanese villages. The unexpected force and success of the rebel forces influenced the government to recruit Janjaweed forces (well armed militia that targeted non-Arab Darfuris) which left many innocent African Darfuris with no option but to flee, thus creating hundreds of thousands of refugees. In recent years, genocide was declared in Sudan. Although multiple ceasefires were negotiated, all have been ignored.
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