Darfur 605837 225953262 2008-07-16T04:44:11Z Tabletop 173687 Spell frieght => freight {{otheruses}} {{Articleissues|article=y|expand=March 2008|restructure=July 2008}} [[Image:Darfur map.png|right|thumb|The three states comprising Darfur within Sudan]] '''Darfur''' ({{lang-ar|دار فور}} ''daar foor'', lit. "realm of the [[Fur people|Fur]]") is a region in [[Sudan]]. An independent [[sultan]]ate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by [[History of the Anglo-Egyptian co-dominium|Anglo-Egyptian forces]]. The region is divided into three federal states: [[West Darfur]], [[South Darfur]], and [[North Darfur]] which are coordinated by a [[Transitional Darfur Regional Authority]]. Due to the [[Darfur Conflict]], the region has been in a state of humanitarian emergency since 2003. [[Image:Darfur report - Page 3 Image 1.jpg|thumb|Street scene in [[Geneina]], capital of [[West Darfur]]]] The rainy season is from June through September, transforming much of the region from dusty brown to verdant green. As much of the population of Darfur is agricultural, the rains are vital. In normal years, [[pearl millet]], a mainstay crop is ready to be harvested by November. Once harvested, the dry stalks may be fed to domestic livestock. In the far northern desert, years may pass between rainfall. In the far south, annual average rainfall is 700&nbsp;mm and many trees remain green year-round.<ref>de Waal, Alex, ''Famine that Kills: Darfur, Sudan'', [[Oxford University Press]] (Revised edition), 2005, ISBN 0-19-518163-8, p. 36</ref> ==Geography== Darfur covers an area of some {{convert|493180|km2|sqmi|sp=us}}<ref>[http://www.globaldreamers.org/holocaust/darfur/geography.html Sudan's Geography, GlobalDreamers.org]</ref> — approximately the size of [[Spain]]<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/05/15/edofahey_ed3_.php Darfur : A complex ethnic reality with a long history - International Herald Tribune]</ref><ref>[http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/jan-june05/darfur_2-17.html Congressional Reps Give Update on Troubled Darfur Region of Sudan - PBS News, 2005-02-17]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/5316306.stm Quick guide: Darfur - BBC News, 2006-09-06]</ref>. It is largely an arid plateau with the [[Marrah Mountains]] (Jebel Marra), a range of volcanic peaks rising up to {{convert|3042|m|ft|sp=us}} of [[topographic prominence]]<ref>[http://www.peaklist.org/WWlists/ultras/africa.html Africa Ultra-Prominences, PeakList.org]</ref>, in the center of the region. The region's main towns are [[Al Fashir]], [[Nyala, Sudan|Nyala]], and [[Geneina]]. The Republic of Sudan is on the south-eastern border of Egypt, and lies on the western shore of the Red Sea. There are four main features of the physical geography. The whole eastern half of Darfur is covered with [[plain]]s and low [[hill]]s of [[Sand|sandy soils]], known as ''goz'', and [[sandstone]] hills. In many places the ''goz'' is waterless and can only be inhabited where there are water reservoirs or deep [[borehole]]s. While dry, ''goz'' may also support rich pasture and [[arable land]]. To the north the ''goz'' is overtaken by the desert sands of the [[Sahara]]. A second feature are the ''[[wadi]]s'', which range from seasonal watercourses that flood only occasionally during the wet season to large ''wadis'' that [[flood]] for most of the rains and flow from western Darfur hundreds of miles west to [[Lake Chad]]. Many ''wadis'' have pans of [[alluvium]] with rich soil that are also difficult to cultivate. Western Darfur is dominated by the third feature, [[basement rock]], sometimes covered with a thin layer of sandy soil. Basement rock is too infertile to be farmed, but provides sporadic forest cover that can be grazed by animals. The fourth and final feature are the [[Marrah Mountains]], volcanic plugs created by a [[massif]], that rise up to a peak at [[Deriba crater]] where there is a small area of temperate climate, high rainfall and permanent springs of water. [[Remote sensing]] has detected the imprint of a vast underground lake under Darfur. The potential water deposits are estimated at {{convert|19110|mi2|km2}}. The lake, during epochs when the region was more humid, would have contained about 607 cubic miles of water.<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1830279020070718 "Underground lake may bring Darfur peace: scientist"] by Tanzina Vega, ''[[Reuters]]'', [[July 18]], [[2007]]</ref> It may have dried up thousands of years ago.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6908224.stm Ancient Darfur lake 'is dried up'], [[BBC]], [[July 20]], [[2007]]</ref> ==Government== The region is divided into three federal states: [[West Darfur]], [[South Darfur]], and [[North Darfur]]. The Darfur Agreement established a [[Transitional Darfur Regional Authority]] ([[TDRA]]) as an interim authority for the region.<ref name="sudantribute">[http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article15343 Sudan Tribune]</ref> The agreement states that a referendum on autonomy for Darfur should be held no later than 2011.<ref name="sudantribute" /> Minni Minnawi is the current Chairperson of the TDRA. ==Accusations of Genocide== Scarce natural resources, especially oil, are a cause of fighting among the people of the largely nomadic north of Darfur and the farmers who inhabit the shi. The president of the country, [[Omar al-Bashir]], an Arabic speaking [[black African]], with affiliation to the north, has backed an arab militia, the [[Janjaweed]], to flush out, by many controversial means, the rebels who operate from the midst of southern farmers. This conflict has often been erroneously characterized as one between [[race]]s (Arabs versus blacks), when in reality both sides of the conflict are represented by blacks (by Western Standards), with the people of the north being mainly nomads and Arabic speaking, and the people of the south being farmers and non-Arabic speaking.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} There have been reports of torture, rapes and murders. Some even go so far as amputating limbs of victims as a warning to others. Certain circles have applied the term "genocide". Many Darfurians have fled to Chad and UN forces are attempting to send food by air, but the Janjaweed have proved to be an obstruction in many instances. [[China]] has been accused of supporting the economy of Sudan, with Omar al-Bashir using some of the money for purchases of weapons, food, vehicles, and whatever else they need to maintain control of the natural resources in Darfur. However China is far from the only nation having an impact on Sudan. [[India]] is also an important buyer of Sudanese oil. In 2006, [[Japan]] purchased more oil from Sudan than any other single country.<ref>[http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Sudan/Oil.html Oil]</ref> UN officials, who spoke in anonymity, announced to journalists on July 11, 2008 that al-Bashir and several other top Sudanese leaders may have warrants for their arrests in the next week. The [[International Criminal Court]]'s chief prosecutor, [[Luis Moreno-Ocampo]], will ask for these warrants before judges at the ICC in [[The Hague, Netherlands]] on July 14, 2008.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sudan's president to be named war crime suspect, say diplomats |url=http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/07/11/sudan-warrant.html |publisher=[[CBC News]] |date=2008-07-11 |accessdate=2008-07-12 }}</ref> Moreno-Ocampo of [[Argentina]], at the [[International Criminal Court]] on [[July 14]] formally filed an arrest warrant request for Omar Hassan al-Bashir, on [[genocide]] charges and crimes against humanity committed since 2003 in Darfur. The prosecutor filed 10 charges accusing Bashir of having “masterminded and implemented” a plan to destroy the 3 main ethnic groups, the [[Fur people|Fur]], [[Masalit]] and [[Zaghawa]] with a campaign of [[murder]], [[rape]] and [[deportation]]. The evidence was submitted to 3 judges who will decide whether to issue an [[arrest warrant]], but the answer is expected in the [[fall]].<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/world/africa/15sudan.html?ref=world nytimes.com, Sudanese President Accused of Genocide]</ref> 300,000 people have died and 5 million people were forced from their homes, and still under attack from government-backed [[janjaweed]] [[militia]].<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080714/ap_on_re_af/war_crimes_sudan yahoo.com, Sudan president al-Bashir charged with genocide]</ref> ==Logistics== Logistics is one of the major obstacles in Darfur that hinders successful deployment of the UNAMID peace-keeping force and the humanitarian organisations that strive to bring peace, security and a relief of human suffering to the region. The vast region has no major surfaced road network. It is nearly 1300 km from Sudan’s one and only international sea port at Port Sudan, and700 km from the international airport at the country’s capital, Khartoum. Transporting aid, to and around the region is hard enough, but during the summer months it is near impossible as heavy rains descend and destroy the dirt roads and fill the wadis, leaving many areas inaccessible. Cargo is often held up at customs as documentation requirements are often changed and cargo retained at the docks until varying amounts of government officials have inspected it. During 2007-2008 22% of transport companies discontinued their services to Darfur due to insecurity.<ref>UNJLC,www.unjlc.org/sudan/transport/land/UNJLC_SDN_KRT_RapidTransportMarketAssessment_080212.pdf </ref> Banditry has increased throughout the conflict, as many of the small rebel factions have turned to it to finance their operations. 51%<ref>Ibid</ref> of the incidents occur along the Ed Daein to Zalingei route, in which both goods, the trucks and drivers have been captured and kidnapped along the way. The goods have been sold on for profit, whilst the vehicles, the main prize, have been incorporated into their own operations, with the kidnapped drivers used to maintain the vehicles. Truck-jackings have become an increasing problem to logistics as not only have the local contractors increased their prices, but many now have to wait for the government to provide armed escorts along the major routes. These escorts are infrequent and are on offer only when the manpower can be spared. The UN forces currently do not have the permission or the forces to operate the long convoys in and out of Sudan, creating a large backlog of aid piling up at the end of the surfaced road in El Obeid, waiting for a convoy to take them the rest of the way. A 6 or 7 day journey is now taking over 3 weeks due to these restrictions. UNJLC, WFP and CARE international have joined forces to create a common pipeline for the different UN agencies and NGOs to transport their procured goods to the Darfur region. During the months of May and June 2008 they offered theses services for free, to help the NGOs stockpile their materials so that they would have enough to outstand the rainy season. These services were limited however, and only really applicable for non-food items. Humanitarian organisations that require more constant delivery of goods and delicate materials such as medical supplies and food supplements have been faced with the dilemma of having to fly their materials in, due to the rains. UNHAS the UN air tranpsportation service has only a few planes and is overstretched due to lack of funding. Many organisations are having to resort to hiring local air freight contractors, which alone is very expensive. Some organisations who cannot afford the high prices use the larger multimodal companies which offer a midway to the fast and expensive air fright, and the cheap and very slow land freight. The Sudanese logisitcs companies that are still operating are: Air freight= Azza air, Ababeel aviation, Air Taxi Sudan. Land freight = Raiba logistics, Keer-MISC ltd, Delta logistics, All inclusive/multimodal= RRS Rapid Response Services ltd == See also == * [[War in Darfur]] * [[Transitional Darfur Regional Authority]] * [[History of Darfur]] * [[Sudan]] == Notes and references == {{reflist}} {{coor title dm|13|00|N|25|00|E|region:SD_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki}} [[Category:Darfur|*]] [[Category:Regions of Sudan]] [[Category:Islamic history]] [[ar:دار فور]] [[zh-min-nan:Darfur]] [[bs:Darfur]] [[bg:Дарфур]] [[ca:Darfur]] [[cs:Dárfúr]] [[da:Darfur]] [[de:Darfur]] [[es:Darfur]] [[eo:Darfuro]] [[fr:Darfour]] [[ga:Darfur]] [[gl:Darfur - دار فور]] [[ko:다르푸르]] [[id:Darfur]] [[it:Darfur]] [[he:דארפור]] [[hu:Dárfúr]] [[ms:Darfur]] [[nl:Darfur (regio)]] [[ja:ダルフール]] [[no:Darfur]] [[oc:Darfor]] [[pl:Darfur]] [[pt:Darfur]] [[ru:Дарфур]] [[simple:Darfur]] [[sl:Darfur]] [[sr:Дарфур]] [[fi:Darfur]] [[sv:Darfur]] [[vi:Darfur (địa lý)]] [[tr:Darfur]] [[vec:Darfur]] [[yi:דארפור]] [[zh:達爾富爾]]