Tribal and ethnic conflicts are not uncommon, but the situation worsened in 2003 when rebel groups such as the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) launched an armed uprising against the Sudanese government in protest at the unequal distribution of economic resources.
The conflict pitted Sudanese government forces, backed by allied militias known as the Janjaweed, against rebel forces fighting the dictatorial rule of former President Omar al-Bashir.
The result was devastating damage to Darfur, with around 300,000 people killed and millions displaced, including 400,000 who were forced to seek refuge in camps in neighbouring Chad.
In response to these atrocities, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for several senior Sudanese officials, including Omar al-Bashir, for allegedly committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.
Is history repeating itself in Darfur?
Darfur has seen intermittent periods of decline in violence in recent years, particularly when the joint United Nations and African Union mission UNAMID was active in the region, but the situation changed dramatically in April 2023 when fighting erupted between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army.
Addressing the Security Council in November, Martha Ama Akyar Poby, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for Africa, said hostilities were “escalating” and that Sudan was “facing the confluence of a worsening humanitarian disaster and a devastating human rights crisis.”
Violence has escalated in Sudan’s Darfur region, raising fears that the atrocities that took place two decades ago could be repeated.