The genocide in Darfur, Sudan began in February 2003. It began when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups began fighting the Sudan government. They began fighting the government because they accused the government of oppressing Darfur's non-Arab population, the Darfuri. With knowledge of these accusations, the government began an ethnic cleansing of the Darfuri people.

The turning point was the raid of Al-Fashir, the capital city of North Darfur. The SLM and JEM attacked a sleeping garrison. Four bombers and helicopter gunships were destroyed and 75 soldiers, pilots, and technicians were killed and 32 were captured. The killings continued throughout the year, and in 2004 they tried to reach a ceasefire agreement which ultimately failed.

On September 9, 2004, the United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell, declared the conflict in Darfur a genocide in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. On February 18, 2006, President George W. Bush called for the number of international troops in Darfur to be doubled. While the United States and the British Prime Minister have expressed their concerns to the UN in wanting to send peacekeepers, both Russia and China have worked to block said attempts. Russia and China support the Sudanese government. The Sudanese military is supplied by Chinese helicopters, tanks, fighter planes, bombers, rocket-propelled grenades, and machine guns. Russia is Sudan's strongest investment partner and political ally.

Unfortunately, the genocide in Darfur is still ongoing to this day. Over 500,000 Darfuri people have been killed in this "ethnic cleansing." Women and young girls are still being raped and killed, men and young boys killed at random. We hadn't seen or read much about Darfur recently, but on April 11, 2019, Omar Al-Bashlr, President of Sudan and under indictment at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes of genocide in Darfur, was removed from power by a Sudanese military coup and arrested. It seems unlikely that he will be handed over to the ICC for trial since several of those who ousted Al-Bashir are likewise under indictment for crimes of genocide. It's been 16 years and the Darfuri people are still searching for resolutions.

Text by Kassandra Escontrias