Darfur Genocide Causes

One of the last major genocides that has occurred and been recorded within the 21st century is the genocide that occurred in Darfur against the civilian groups of the Fur, Massalit, and Zaghawa (p.515). This genocide was composed by the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed who targeted the black Africans, with “…between 300,000 and 400,000 people have been killed outright and/or perished as a result of “genocide by attrition (meaning with starvation, dehydration, unattended injuries, and the purposeful withholding of humanitarian aid)” (p. 513). The civilians of Darfur proclaimed that “… ‘African’ —are equally indigenous and equally black” (p. 516). This statement was the onset that allowed for the genocide to occur in the first place. Many
No act of genocide is ever the result of a single factor; indeed, genocide results from a synergy of trends, issues, and events that influence the thinking and actions of potential perpetrators who, ultimately, intend to extirpate, in one way or another, those it perceives as enemies, dangerous and/or loathsome in some way” (p. 518). Not only did the genocide occur through some of the actions listed above, but the GoS and the Janjaweed also attacked through bombings, ground attacks, mass and gang rape, with the intention of the wholesale destruction of the black African villages of Darfur (p. 514). “The initial increase in violent conflict within the region was due to a host of issues” (p. 524). It was also attributed through aspects such as “…extreme drought; increased desertification; Arab supremacism; authoritarianism; extreme nationalism; an ever-increasing bellicosity in the region; and the disfranchisement of black Africans at the hands of the Sudanese government” (p. 518). Each of these listed above not only proclaimed many aspects that was used to attack the black Africans of Darfur, but they were also many ways that allowed for this genocide to be “set apart” from the others that have been studied. These elements also demonstrate underlying ways that a superior group can attack those within the country through matters that many would not have recognized ahead of
… In doing so, the GoS troops and the Janjaweed slaughtered men and boys, raped, mutilated, and often killed females, looted household goods and animals,and then burned the homes and villages to the ground” (p. 527). Those whom suffered were never truly able to recover from the conflict that arose during this incident. Nearly 400,000 people loss their lives and many were displaced from their home, forcing them to either rebuild after the destruction or be forced into refugee camps in order to continue on living their life. Those whom have studied upon the genocide of Darfur realize that half of the civilians within the UN Convention proclaim that the genocide of Darfur did actually occur by the perpetrators of Janjaweed and the GoS…while others assert that the the GoS and Janjaweed were not ultimately involved and should not be responsible for these “actions”. “Furthermore, while the UN asserts that at least 300,000 have been killed in Darfur over the years…, the GoS asserts that just 9,000 have been killed, mainly as a result of rebel actions” (p. 528). This is a continuing argument that has not been settled even until this