Spotlight on Darfur

The plight of Darfur seems to have gone from the spotlight being much overshadowed by events in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile as well as across the border in South Sudan. The longest lasting peace deal to date, the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), got a boost this February when the Sudanese government and other signatories came together to pledge continued support for the deal. So far it the support of bigger rebel groups but may outlive its relevance in its current state. Recent changed including further splits in the anti-government armed groups; the rise of Arab-Arab violence particularly in Northern Darfur; the increase in Gold mining in North Darfur and the rebel groups that have been employed to control the mining boom there were not planned for. Even more progressive developments such as the signing on of JEM-Sudan last year to the DDPD may, if they are not adequately accommodated, give rise to leadership issues and complicate behind the scenes agreements between previous signatories.

This week President al-Bashir has announced that the 18 Darfur armed group who have signed peace deals with the GoS have formed a council headed by Mustafa Tairab, Head of the Darfur Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) (reported on the 2^nd of November).  However precious little was said about how this council and the government were intending to incorporate remaining armed groups into the fold nor about how they would disincentivise others in Darfur’s five states from arming in this still volatile region. The humanitarian situation remains dire with vast numbers of IDP still joining the big camps near large areas, fearing the paucity of protection in rural areas. Furthermore, the much touted process of national dialogue, which Darfur’s governors have been keen to show support for, has been slow to pick up pace and credibility.  It has also been somewhat – and perhaps unintentionally - undermined by Umma party and opposition manoeuvrings in London and Paris over the past few months.

The Qatar-sponsored donor conference in April 2013 where pledges of $1 billion were made has yet to lead to concrete and tangible peace initiatives, with reports of violence by local armed groups as well as government or government-aligned groups. Despite the recent pledge of $11million by the EU for humanitarian needs in South Darfur (Sudan Tribune 5^th November 2014), intermittent and disjointed support from the international community has not helped in overcoming grave humanitarian issues. With confidence in the DRA and UNAMID dangerously low, it is little wonder that small yet significant skirmishes are taking place in North, East and South Darfur particularly.  Yet the urgency of post-session Sudan that saw Darfuri al-Hajj Adam Youssef appointed, rather symbolically, as vice-president has gone. 

Looking ahead

South Sudan’s recent history may be an omen of what could ensue in Darfur if it has, as many think, a mind to secede.  It is important to remember that the SPLM did not rally behind the call to secession until it was made clear by the ‘Salvation’ regime that a new lone national identity – that did not fit the majority of southerners – would be the standard for national inclusion. However there is very little that the Darfur groups agree on: this is not yet the SPLM with its rather single-minded struggle against the North - that may or may not come later.  The language of the government’s war machine has indeed changed somewhat from a religious ‘jihad’ against non-Muslims to a nationalistic discourse, redefining what it means to be Arab and Muslim in a country with a myriad of ethnicities.  It is important to note that Sudan is scarcely considered Arab by a large majority of its Middle Eastern neighbours. That said, the fact that the overwhelming majority of Darfuris are Muslim has not precluded their perceived alienation from the new national identity of the second republic – reproduced through media outlets and made evident through the correlation between periphery non-Arab identifying groups and armed resistance. It remains to be seen whether in the run-up to the 2015 national elections the spirit of national dialogue will yield significant developments for the Darfur states.