Teaching the Holocaust and other Genocides

Darfur

The Darfur Genocide: The First Genocide of the Twenty-First Century

The Darfur Genocide refers to the mass slaughter and rape of Darfuri men, women, and children in western Sudan.

Sudan, Africa’s third-largest country, has a long history of political violence. After gaining independence from Anglo-Egyptian rule in 1956, it experienced a series of military takeovers. From 1989 to 2019, Omar al-Bashir ruled as a military dictator, using political violence and human rights violations to maintain control.

Bashir’s imposition of strict Islamic law fueled conflict, particularly in southern Sudan, where a civil war ultimately led to South Sudan's independence in 2011. This war placed immense strain on the entire country, especially the Darfur region, where long-standing tensions escalated into genocide.

Breakdown of Expenditure of Regional Development in Sudan

"'The World's Worst Humanitarian Crisis': Understanding the Darfur Conflict" 

Darfur, meaning ‘land of the Furs,’ is located on the western side of Sudan. The region has been home to a multiethnic population for centuries consisting mainly of Arab and African tribes.

The African tribes, such as the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa, are primarily farmers.

The Arab tribes are historically traders and herders.

These tribes helped connect the Darfur region with the broader trade routes of Sudan. The British

incorporated Darfur into the “Republic of Sudan,” under Anglo-Egyptian rule in 1917. The Eastern and Southern regions of Sudan had greater geopolitical and strategic importance for Egypt and Britain. As a result, Darfur was largely neglected and did not receive many resources from the government.

In 1956, Sudan gained independence from Britain and Egypt, but the country was plagued by civil war from the beginning. The people of Northern Sudan are primarily Muslim, while those in Southern Sudan are generally Christian or Animist. In addition, the country's two regions had many other economic and cultural differences. The capital of Sudan, Khartoum, is located in the north of Sudan, and much of the government is dominated by Arabs. South Sudan has sought more control over itself, resulting in a prolonged civil war. From 1956 until 2005, only 11 years of peace existed in Sudan.

This series of civil wars put a great strain on the country, and the initial trend of neglect toward Darfur continued. The region did not have the same economic pull as oil-rich South Sudan, and the African farmers did not have representation in the government. The civil wars between South Sudan and Sudan intensified when President al-Bashir led a coup in 1989. He established a dictatorship and attempted to impose strict Islamic law, causing fierce opposition from the non-Muslim southern population. In 2002, the Sudanese government agreed to a ceasefire with South Sudanese rebels. The Darfur region had no representation during the peace negotiations.

In addition to the ongoing civil war, the Darfur region of Sudan faced internal issues that increased tensions between the Arab and African tribes. Darfur is bigger than the state of California and faces desertification and limited resources. The Arabs in the region, long supported by Bashir’s government, are generally herders, moving their cattle and livestock to graze throughout the region. As less and less land was arable and water became less available, tensions grew between the Arab herders seeking grazing fields for their livestock and the non-Arab tribes who are traditionally farmers.

Genocide Triggers

A major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan began in February 2003; the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups fought the government of Sudan, accusing it of oppressing Darfur's non-Arab population. Although the war started at this moment to take advantage of the impending cease-fire between Sudan and South Sudan, it was the limited resources of the territory and the long-standing ethnic differences between the Arab and non-Arab tribes that pushed the conflict beyond the political arena.

Because of his failed attempts to stop the rebellious groups in South Sudan, Bashir and his supporters took a different tactic in Darfur. Instead of just waging a civil war with the armed rebel groups, they sought to eliminate the African tribes from which the rebel groups grew.

Implementation of Genocide

The burning of Um Ziefa at the hands of the Janjaweed during the Darfur Genocide
Photography by Brian Steidle

Mariam Ibrahim Ausher, 35, a soldier with the Sudanese Liberation Army, joined the rebels after her village was attacked by government forces and her first husband and children were killed. She fights in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur alongside her rebel husband, General Al Gizouli.
Courtesy:Vice News
Photography by Zach Caldwell

The government responded to the SLM and JEM with a disproportionate amount of violence. The government carried out a campaign of ‘ethnic cleansing,’ genocide, against Darfur's non-Arabs as a whole. Janjaweed troops (translating to Devils on Horseback), with material support and coordination from the government, attacked African villages in Darfur. The victims included the non-Arab tribes within Darfur, particularly the Fur, the Massaleit, and the Zaghawa, but also the Tunjur, the Birgid, and the Dajo, among others. The Janjaweed rounded up men and boys and killed them. They raped the women and girls. Instead of targeting rebel groups or bases, the Janjaweed destroyed entire villages to eliminate the chance for the community to return or for the rebels to have a base for recruitment.

The burned buildings, destroyed irrigation systems, and poisoned water sources. Civilians became the target of the government’s attempt to eliminate rebellion from the Darfur region.

This resulted in about 300,000 deaths and about 2.7 million displaced civilians. It is estimated that these government-supported actions displaced over one-third of the population in Darfur within the first year of the conflict. Many fled to the neighboring country of Chad. Direct attacks by the Janjaweed and the Sudanese government caused many of the deaths, but famine and disease among those displaced also contributed to the death count.

International Response

"No Where to Hide"
Courtesy: The Weiner Holocaust Library

In the wake of both the Bosnian and Rwandan genocides, the international community acknowledged that the structures in place failed to prevent such tragedies.

Salih Booker and Ann-Louise Colgan from the advocacy group Africa Action stated in The Nation, "We should have learned from Rwanda that to stop genocide, Washington must first say the word.” Varied media sources provided extensive coverage of the atrocities in Darfur, and many organizations, such as the United States

Holocaust Memorial Museum, pressured officials to declare the events in Darfur a genocide. A year after the crisis began, the United States House of Representatives unanimously voted to approve a statement declaring the events in Darfur to be considered genocide; in September 2004, Secretary of State Colin Powell stated publicly that genocide was taking place. This was the first time the United States government had identified an event to be considered genocide while the conflict was still ongoing. The US government’s acknowledgment of genocide implied an obligation to protect the victims; however, the US focused its efforts on providing humanitarian aid rather than directly working to stop the Darfur genocide.

Other international organizations, such as the African Union, faced limited resources and a lack of political will to intervene in Darfur. The United Nations Security Council also failed to impose sanctions on Sudan, largely due to China’s economic ties with the Sudanese government, as it relied on Sudanese oil imports. Meanwhile, Amnesty International accused China and Russia of supplying weapons and equipment to the Sudanese government in the early 2000s—arms that were ultimately used to carry out attacks against civilians in Darfur.

Legacy and Aftermath

The genocide in Darfur has never indeed ended. In 2005, a ceasefire agreement helped establish relative peace between Sudan and South Sudan. In 2011, South Sudan became an independent country. These developments did not improve the situation for the people of Darfur. The Janjaweed continued to grow in power and influence. Ultimately, the Janjaweed insisted on getting official status within the Sudanese government, and beginning in 2013, it became known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In 2019, the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) joined to push President Bashir out. These two groups have since splintered, and a new civil war has emerged. Unrest and violence persist today, and in April 2023, fighting broke out again in Darfur. Civilians are once again facing mass atrocities.

Drawing that depicts the Sudanese military and the Janjaweed militia attacking a village with airplanes, armored tanks, and trucks mounted with machine guns during the Darfur Genocide (2003-2005). A Darfuri villager tries to fend off the attack with a sling and a spear. This was created by Zakaria Abbas Idriss. The Wiener Holocaust Library.

“Boy in the Sand”

I saw a boy make his final stand today,
Face buried in a sea of sand, body prone, bent, broken
like the waves.
His chest was not moving,
His heart did not beat, everything around him was
Suspended in the varied turmoil of land and water;
push and pull – as if each were trying to reclaim him.

It’s like that sometimes
when I see the corpse of a stranger That kind of
death,
from the outside of someone else’s final breath…
it makes the air stop,
the ocean turns more slowly,
the earth a cradle
a cemetery
a monument
a stone
like a dead boy resting in the sand.

-Emithal Mahmoud, 2018

Source
“Boy in the Sand by Emi Mahmoud.” YOUTUBE, uploaded by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. 1 September 2016. https://youtu.be/QMjIUneTF6M?si=D-mRbk_bI25-pmDo
Audio: Ms. Mahmoud reading “Boy in the Sand”

About the Poet
Emithal Mahmoud is a celebrated Sudanese spoken word artist originating from the war-town region of Darfur. Her poetry captures the horrors of genocide and its lasting effects on survivors. Ms. Mahmoud uses her poetry and voice to capture the complex web of emotions surrounding her experiences and the diaspora her family experiences when they emigrate to the United States to escape the dangerous terror of their home in Darfur.

Discussion Questions

Historical Context

1. What political challenges did Sudan face after gaining independence in 1956?

2. How did Omar al-Bashir’s rise to power in 1989 shape Sudan’s political landscape?

3. Why was the Darfur region historically neglected by the central Sudanese government?

Ethnic and Social Tensions

4. What are the main ethnic groups in Darfur, and how do their traditional lifestyles differ?

5. How did competition over natural resources contribute to the conflict in Darfur?

6. Why did the peace negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan in 2002 fail to address Darfur’s concerns?

Genocide Triggers and Implementation

7. What role did the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) play in the conflict?

8. How did the Sudanese government and the Janjaweed militia target civilians during the genocide?

9. What were the immediate humanitarian consequences of the Darfur genocide?

International Response and Aftermath

10. How did the United States respond to the Darfur genocide, and why was its response significant?

11. What factors limited the effectiveness of the African Union and United Nations in stopping the genocide?

12. How has the legacy of the Janjaweed militia continued to affect Sudan’s political and social stability today?

Sources

Primary Sources and Testimony

Second Decision on the Prosecution’s Application for a Warrant of Arrest. (2025). Considerthesourceny.org. https://considerthesourceny.org/document/second-decision-prosecutions-application-warrant-arrest
In this decision by the court, the prosecution presented an argument for why Omar al-Bashir should be tried for genocide in addition to Crimes Against Humanity. The court outlined how his actions met the legal criteria for genocide and enumerated the three additional charges added to Omar al-Bashir's case.

Waging Peace Darfuri Children’s Drawings | Holocaust and Genocide Studies | University of South Florida. (2025). Usf.edu. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/darfuri_drawings/
This is a collection of children's drawings created in refugee camps in Chad. This moving set of images depicts what children saw and experienced; these images were submitted to the International Criminal Court as evidence for Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide. Visit the website to view hundreds of other children's drawings.

The Wiener Holocaust Library. (n.d.). The Darfur Genocide – The Holocaust Explained: Designed for Schools. Theholocaustexplained.org. https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/what-was-the-holocaust/what-was-genocide/the-darfur-genocide/
This page provides a child’s drawing and photographic images of the burning of the village of Um Zeifa in Darfur after the Janjaweed looted and attacked. Photographer Brian Steidle is a former Marine who became a patrol leader in Sudan for the Joint Military Mission, monitoring the ceasefire between North and South Sudan. While in Sudan, Steidle took photos to document the devastation of the country, including in the region of Darfur.

Secondary Sources

Bicknell, J. (2025, March 6). From “US” to “them”: Classification in Darfur: Ten stages of change: Genocide education & prevention. Ten Stages of Change. https://stagesofchange.org/stage1-classification/comment-page-1/
This article both conveys the general circumstances of the genocide in Darfur and connects it through personal stories. It directly connects the genocide to the 10 Stages framework and is helpful for some specific examples of how genocide occurred in Darfur. The post also includes powerful and meaningful steps anyone can do to respond to what is still ongoing in Darfur or human rights violations in general.

Reeves, Eric. "A Darfur 'Crash Course.'" https://sudanreeves.org/2005/09/25/a-darfur-crash-course-on-line-at-the-new-republic-july-18-22-2005-part-1/
This series of articles provides an in-depth overview of the causes and international response to the crisis.

Straus, S. (2005). Darfur and the Genocide Debate. Foreign Affairs, 84(1), 123–133. https://doi.org/10.2307/20034212
This article provides a useful introduction to the debates surrounding the international response to the Darfur genocide.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2023, December 21). Darfur. Ushmm.org; United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/darfur
This encyclopedia reference provides a general overview of the Genocide in Darfur.

Videos

Mahmoud, E. (2016). A young poet tells the story of Darfur. Ted.com; TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/talks/emtithal_mahmoud_a_young_poet_tells_the_story_of_darfur/transcript?subtitle=en
This presentation is an address presented at TED MED, 2016. TED. Last modified November 2016. Accessed November 10, 2024. Emtithal "Emi" Mahmoud writes poetry of resilience, confronting her experience of escaping the genocide in Darfur in verse. Emtithal "Emi" Mahmoud writes poetry of resilience, confronting her experience of escaping the genocide in Darfur in verse. She shares two stirring original poems about refugees, family, joy, and sorrow, asking, "Will you witness me? Highly recommended to view for a personal story of resilience and hope. It includes the performance of two spoken-word poems that offer an excellent interdisciplinary opportunity.