Background

Main article: History of Darfur

The conflict taking place in Darfur has many interwoven causes. While rooted in structural inequality between the center of the country around the Nile and the 'peripheral' areas such as Darfur, tensions were exacerbated in the last two decades of the twentieth century by a combination of environmental calamity, political opportunism and regional politics. A point of particular confusion has been the characterization of the conflict as one between 'Arab' and 'African' populations, a dichotomy that one historian describes as "both true and false".^[9] Western powers have also been accused of covertly exacerbating tensions to counter recent Chinese-Sudanese oil cooperation, and to deter further oil deals by China in the region. ^[10]

In the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century, the Keira dynasty of the Fur people of the Marrah Mountains established a sultanate with Islam as the state religion. The sultanate was conquered by the Turco-Egyptian force expanding south along the Nile, which was in turn defeated by the Muhammad Ahmad, the self-proclaimed Mahdi. The Mahdist state collapsed under the onslaught of the British force led by Herbert Kitchener, who established an Anglo-Egyptian co-dominium to rule Sudan. The British allowed Darfur de jure autonomy until 1916 when they invaded and incorporated the region into Sudan.^[11] Within Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the bulk of resources were devoted toward Khartoum and Blue Nile Province, leaving the rest of the country relatively undeveloped.

An internally displaced persons camp in Darfur

The inhabitants of the Nile Valley, which had received the bulk of British investment, continued the pattern of economic and political marginalization after independence was achieved in 1956. In the 1968 elections, factionalism within the ruling Umma Party led candidates, notably Sadiq al-Mahdi, to try to split off portions of the Darfuri electorate either by blaming the region's underdevelopment on the Arabs, in the case of appeals to the stationary peoples, or by appealing to the Baggara semi-nomads to support their fellow Nile Arabs. This Arab-African dichotomy, which was not an indigenously developed way of perceiving local relations, was exacerbated after Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi became focused on establishing an Arab belt across the Sahel and promulgated an ideology of Arab supremacy

Increasing instability

In 1979, Nimeiry appointed to Darfur the only provincial governor who was not of the local population. The appointment of a Nile Valley walad al-beled, chosen to oversee the support to Habré, sparked riots by Darfuri across Sudan in which three students were killed. Nimeiry relented due to fears that his anti-Libyan bases were being jeopardized.^[8]

In a longer term cycle, the gradual reduction in annual precipation, coupled with a growing population, had begun a cycle in which increased use of arable land along the southern edge of the Sahara increased the rate of desertification, which in turn increased the use of the remaining arable land. Drought from the mid-1970s to early 1980s led to massive immigration from northern Darfur and Chad into the central farming belt. In 1983 and 1984, the rains failed. When the Khartoum government refused to heed warnings of critical crop failure because they feared it would affect the administration's image abroad the Governor of the Fur-dominated administration in Darfur resigned in protest.^[9]. The region was plunged into a horrific famine. When 60-80,000 Darfuris walked across the country to Khartoum seeking food, the government declared them be Chadian refugees and trucked them to Kurdufan in "Operation Glorious Return", only to see them walk back to Khartoum as there was no food in Kurdufan.^[10] The famine killed an estimated 95,000 Darfuris out of a population of 3.1 million and it was clear that the deaths had been entirely preventable. The incompetence of the regime, combined with the start of the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983, proved unbearable for the country and Nimeiry was overthrown on 5 April 1985. Sadiq al-Mahdi came out of exile, making a deal with Gaddafi, which he had no intention of honoring, that he would turn over Darfur to Libya if he was supplied with the funds to win the upcoming elections.^[11]

Nimeiry had been heavily supported by the United States and the military junta that had taken power moved quickly to discontinue pro-American policies. Beginning in August 1985, Libya began sending military/humanitarian convoys from Benghazi, including an 800-strong military force that set up base in Al-Fashir and began arming the local Baggara tribes, whom Gaddafi considered to be his local Arab allies. By the time that Libyan relations with the United States had worsened so that by the time American planes bombed Tripoli in April 1986, Libya was providing key logistical and air support to Sudanese offensives against the Sudan People's Liberation Army in the rebel South. Meanwhile, the famine had severely upset the structure of Darfuri society. The farmers had claimed every available bit of land to farm or forage for food, closing off the traditional routes used by the herders. The herders, faced with watching their animals die of starvation in the desiccated landscape, tried to force the routes south open, attacking farmers who tried to block their path and shedding blood.^[12] Darfur was awash in small arms from the various neighboring conflicts and stories spread of herders raiding farming villages for all of their animals or villagers who had armed themselves in self defense.^[13] To Darfuris facing starvation, the dichotomous ideology of African versus Arab began to have explanatory power. Amongst some stationary Africans, the ideas that uncaring Arabs in Khartoum had let the famine happen and then Darfuri Arabs armed by their Libyan allies had attacked African farmers began to gain credence. Similarly, semi-nomadic Darfuri Arabs began to seriously consider that Africans had vindictively tried to punish them for the famine by trying to keep them from pastureland and that perhaps the difference between awlad al-beled and awlad al-gharb was not as great as between Arab and zurga.

Gadhafi warns West on Darfur involvement

^{SIRTE, Libya - Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi urged the international community on Saturday to stay out of Sudan’s Darfur crisis unless the warring parties themselves were willing to implement a solution.}

^{Gadhafi made the remarks as he welcomed international envoys to Libya for talks on Darfur, where four years of fighting between rebels, government forces and Arab Janjaweed militia have killed at least 200,000 people and displaced some 2.5 million, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.}

^{“My advice to the world, after this conference and finding solutions to the issue, is to ignore the disputing parties if they don’t respond to these solutions,” Gadhafi told envoys from the United Nations, African Union (AU), United States and a string of Western and African countries.}

^{“I call on (the world) not to finance them materially and to stop supporting them and not to send international forces,” he added as he received the officials in his hometown of Sirte.}

^{Peacekeepers may take back seat at talks
The United States says the Darfur bloodshed amounts to genocide and, backed by Britain, is demanding that Sudan accept a combined AU-U.N. peacekeeping force of more than 20,000 troops and police or face international sanctions.}

^{But a Western diplomat told Reuters on the eve of the meeting that the talks in Libya would leave aside the peacekeeping issue and focus on seeking a political settlement.}

^{Amid a welter of initiatives on Darfur including from Libya and Eritrea, he said all parties needed to agree to consolidate diplomatic efforts under the aegis of the AU and U.N.}

^{“Peacekeeping is not under discussion here. This is to try and bring to life the revival of the political track,” the diplomat said. “What we need is a process vigorously led by the AU and the U.N.”}

^{Political progress has been made much harder by the fact that the Darfur rebels themselves are split. A peace deal in May last year was signed by only one of three rebel negotiating factions.}

^{AU intervention hasn't worked
In apparent criticism of the rebels, Gadhafi said: “I see that the rebel side in the region is the one which endeavors to implicate the world in this issue. It is not in the interest of the world to intervene in an issue in which one of the parties doesn’t want a solution.”}

^{Gadhafi styles himself as an African nationalist seeking African solutions to the continent’s problems without relying on the West.}

^{An overstretched force of some 5,000 AU peacekeepers has so far failed to stop the bloodshed in Darfur, and one of its officers said this week that Arab militias were killing and pillaging there with impunity.}

^{So far Sudan has agreed to a U.N. “heavy support package” for the AU troops that includes some 3,500 U.N. military and police personnel, but it has not accepted the full U.N.-AU force of more than 20,000 which the U.N. Security Council first authorized last August.}

^{Britain and the United States have been drawing up a sanctions resolution if Sudan continues to balk at U.N. demands, although no date has been set for its introduction in the Security Council. Among the measures under consideration are an arms embargo for the entire country.}

^{The Libyan talks, scheduled to end on Sunday, bring together special Darfur envoys from the United Nations, African Union, United States, European Union and Britain, and ministers or officials from Sudan, Eritrea, Chad, Egypt, France, Canada, Norway and Russia.}

^{URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18371115/}

Muammar al-Gaddafi

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Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi Arabic: معمر القذافي
De Facto Head of State of Libya
Incumbent
Assumed office  September 1, 1969
Preceded by	Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi
Succeeded by	Incumbent
13th Prime Minister of Libya
In office January 16, 1970 – July 16, 1972
Preceded by	Mahmud Sulayman al-Maghribi
Succeeded by	Abdessalam Jalloud
Born	?, June 1942 Surt, Libya
Political party	None (military)

Colonel Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi¹ (Arabic: معمر القذافي (help·info) Mu‘ammar al-Qaḏḏāfī) (born c. 1942) has been the de facto leader of Libya since 1969. Although Gaddafi holds no public office or title, he is accorded the honorifics "Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" or "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in government statements and the official press.^[1]

          ^{The Bible speaks of the Devil transforming himself into "an Angel Of Light" when it is expedient for him in his "machinations". This allegorization can certainly apply to Muammer al-Gadhafi in his attempt to appear diplomatic in the genocide and ethnic cleansing carried out by the Sudan backed  Muslim Arab "Janjiweed" herders against the Muslim African farmers. Gadhafi's call for the West not to intervene militarily to stop the violence is indeed hypocritical in the light the "Pan Arab nationalism" he has miltarily supported for decades. To let the warring factions in Darfur resolve the conflict themselves would only result in more violence and deaths.  Only a large peacekeeping force, preferably an international one, can stop the genocide. All the other complex economic and social issues would have to be resolved by the Sudanese people. May Allah. the Muslim personification of "Omnipotent Good", be merciful and take Ghahdafi and his long time  and covert "terroist" regime on to  "glory" in death and bring peace and prosperity to Darfur once again!}

          

 

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