Ethnic cleansing of non-Arabs in Darfur

This April marked the first anniversary of the outbreak of war in Sudan between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), resulting in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The ongoing fighting has worsened the already existing vulnerability in Darfur, where a diverse population of both Arab and non-Arab ethnicities resides.

Arabs in this region are largely descendants of nomadic tribes that came to Darfur decades ago. They speak Arabic dialects and practice animal husbandry. Non-Arab groups include many communities with distinct languages and cultures. Many are farmers or have mixed livelihoods.

Arab and non-Arab Darfur had been at odds for decades. Arab and non-Arab Masalit tribes have fought for scarce water and territory for nearly twenty years. But currently, violence has transformed into a stage where systematic ethnic cleansing is being perpetrated against the non-Arab tribes by the RSF. This distinct ethnic dimension traces its roots in history.    
Khantoums ruling elite has ignored Sudans vast peripheries, especially Darfur in the west, since independence in 1956. Theyve also extracted natural resources from the periphery. The 2003 violent protests were inspired by the rebels desire to overthrow the Islamist military regime, which had been in power since 1989, and end its marginalization.

The pro-Arab Khartoum administration under then-President Omar al-Bashir characterised the rebels as acists and used Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, to fight them. At least 400,000 people died and three million were displaced by the military and militias.

The paramilitary force responsible for the ongoing genocide, originated from the Janjaweed militias. In 2013, the Janjaweed militia was formally incorporated into the Sudanese government as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti, the former commander of the Janjaweed, became crucial to Bashirs administration.

In 2019, Dagalo formed an alliance with other army generals, including Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, gained enough power to remove Bashir from office in reaction to a widespread revolt against the autocratic ruler. In October 2021, two years later, Dagalo and Burhan orchestrated a military coup to terminate a civilian power-sharing arrangement, then engaging in armed conflict with each other in April 2023.

Fighting spread to Darfur from Khartoum, Sudans capital. Darfur is a major gold mining and trafficking hotspot. The protracted conflict in Darfur stems from non-Arab farming populations and nomadic Arab cattle herders competing for scarce resources like land, water, and other necessities.

The UN estimates that two-thirds of Darfur residents face food insecurity, one of the highest rates on the continent. These several circumstances have led to the RSF and Arab militias committing genocide. Many testimonies and papers substantiate this.

The Raoul Wallenberg Centre, an international human rights organisation, found that the RSF and its affiliated militias have committed genocide against non-Arab ethnic groups, centred on the Masalit tribe as potential fighters. Maintaining authority over Darfur serves the RSF chiefs strategic objectives.

Darfur is Dagalos stronghold as he fights Burhan for power. RSF recruits are mostly from Darfur. Many are from Dagalos own Rizeigat tribe. In recent years, the RSF has invested heavily in Darfur to control its critical assets, including air strips, mines, water sources, and roads.

If things go badly for Dagalo elsewhere in Sudan, particularly in the capital, Khartoum, he is anticipated to retreat to Darfur, where he will be almost impenetrable until Burhan can rally a sufficient force of Dagalos regional opponents.
    
Earlier this year, the UNSC received a report detailing RSF war crimes under the 1949 Geneva Conventions. This makes assessing the international communitys role crucial. The Raoul Wallenberg Centre study report states that Sudan, the UAE, Libya, Chad, CAR, and Russia via the Wagner group have all been involved in the genocide.

Support for the RSF has primarily come from one source, a key US ally: the UAE, with arms supplied to the RSF also facilitated by Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar and transported overland from Chad and the CAR, as well as being flown out of Ugandan air bases.            

RSF maintains a symbiotic relationship with the UAE. He established his commercial empire in Dubai. The gold extracted from RSF-controlled mines in Darfur is traded in the UAE.Aside from its link with the Dagalo family and the use of RSF militants in Yemen and Libya, the UAE has long held interests in Sudan.

They include buying agricultural land to address food security issues, importing livestock from Sudan, and building Red Sea port projects, including a $6 billion port north of Port Sudan approved last year.

The Russian Wagner group has been supplying the RSF with surface-to-air missiles to fight Sudans army, prolonging the conflict and destabilizing the region. However, the US has sanctioned an RSF leader and two RSF-affiliated entities (Al Junaid and Tradive). Despite these attempts, the US has failed to pressure its key ally- the UAE to halt RSF backing.

This international dimension of the Sudan war is often underestimated, leading to international communitys indifference. Regional schisms amongst mediation countries and opposing interests among Russia, the US, Saudi Arabia, and UAE hinder conflict resolution. Both sides have accused one other of fighting after several cease-fire agreements in the last year.

Another important factor in the Sudanese conflict is the presence of multiple armed actors, some of whom are affiliated with the SAF or RSF, who have yet to negotiate peace.

A strong collaboration effort within countries, regionally, and internationally, with relevant entities, is needed not only to bring an end to the genocide perpetrated by the RSF but also to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis, which has resulted in the death of tens of thousands and around 9 million displaced people.

But a conflict of this scale has lost focus because of whats happening in Ukraine and Palestine. It is high time that the international community takes into account the multifaceted regional and international dynamics to create a framework of diplomatic efforts that can lead to a sustainable peace in Sudan.

The writer is a student at the department of International Relations in Bangladesh University of Professionals