Abstract
Five important drivers are invoked to explain the Darfur ethnocide in 2003- 2009. The economic decline of the sultanate in the 19th century, colonial negligence, Ghaddafi’s ambitions in the region in the eighties, dire droughts in the nineties, Arabian-African ethnic cleavage aggravated by famine, and finally, the harsh competition for scarce resources. This chapter provides crucial context for the conflict and crisis in Darfur.
Keywords: Anglo-Egyptian domination, Drought, Ethnocide versus Genocide, Rebellion, International Criminal Court, International activism/solidarity, Darfur, Omar Al-Bashir, Sultanate of Darfur, Janjaweed, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Humanitarian aid, Human Rights, Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs), Refugees, International Condemnation, Proxy war, Media coverage, Khartoum, Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A).