The Fight in Darfur for Control of Sudans Oil

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The Fight in Darfur for Control of Sudan’s Oil

Introduction

The Darfur conflict is identified as the ongoing civil war taking place in the Darfur region of southern Sudan. The conflict began in 2003 after the taking of arms by Justice and Equality Movement as well as Sudan Liberation Movement, following the accusation against the Sudanese government for supporting the Arabs instead of the Black Africans. One side of the conflict is made up of SLM/A as well as the JEM, while the other side of the conflict is made up of Janjaweed (De, 2007). This conflict is linked to a large number of deaths culminating from starvation, direct combat and diseases, large numbers of losses, forced migration, mass displacements and huge humanitarian crisis. Many causes are attributed to the war, but the main causes include fighting for oil and land. In terms of fighting for oil, Sudan is rich in oil fields but the oil fields are mostly concentrated on the southern part where Darfur is located. Though the war started in 2003 due to the conflict between the Arabs and the Black Africans, it was also sparked by the conflict over oil fields between the Sudanese government and US. US funded the SPLA with the aim of creating a rift between Southern and Northern Sudan, while the Sudanese government funded Janjaweed to reduce the rebellion of SPLA. This raised the conflict. In terms, the conflict is due to the loss of land by the Black Africans who are farmers to the Arabs who are nomads. The Arabs who migrated into southern Sudan felt that they were superior to the black Africans in the southern and hence decided to take over their land sparking the war. The war has taken its toll on the people of southern Sudan, but it can be solved through international intervention and the collaboration of the Arabs and the black Africans in southern Sudan. This is their land and they should be willing to protect it. Although the war in Darfur is based on fighting over land and oil, both the international community and the people of Southern Sudan can still forge peace in Darfur.

The war conflict

Sudan is rich in oil fields but the oil fields are mostly concentrated in Darfur, the southern part of Sudan (Johnson, 2004). The fight in Darfur for control of Sudan’s oil fields is an ongoing civil war that started in 2003, and taking place in the Darfur region of southern Sudan (De Waal, 2007; Johnson, 2004). The conflict began after the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) took arms and accused the Sudanese government for supporting the Arabs instead of the Black Africans for the oil business (Johnson, 2004). One side of the conflict is made up of SLM army and JEM, while the other side of the conflict is made up of Janjawiid (De Waal, 2007). Though the war started as a result of conflict between the Arabs and the Black Africans, it was also sparked by the conflict over oil fields between the Sudanese government and U.S. U.S funded the SPLA with the aim of creating a rift between Southern and Northern Sudan, while the Sudanese government funded Janjaweed to reduce the rebellion of SPLA. This raised the conflict (Flint & De Waal, 2008). The war in Darfur could be stimulated by the need to control Sudan’s oil and retain land identity but it has more costs than benefits, and thus a long term peace solution should be identified.

Genocide

The fight in Darfur has led to an increased number of deaths through direct combat, starvation, and diseases (Levy, 2009). Levy (2009) argues that since the beginning of the Darfur conflict in the late 2003, the war has claimed over half a million lives and left over two million people homeless. Nevertheless, the violence is ongoing and the shocking part is that it seems to be a war of the government against its own people. Countless Sudanese continue being murdered, raped, and attacked by the Sudanese army and the infamous Janjaweed militia which is controlled by the Sudanese government. Furthermore, as the war continues the Southern Sudan farmers are unable to continue with their farming lifestyle and hence there is a devastating shortage of food. Millions of people are dying and risking ill health as a result of starvation and malnutrition. Mamdani (2010) describes that the deaths caused in the war goes beyond the ethnic cleansing of the Africans by the Arabs. Mamdani (2010) further argues that the term genocide in Darfur has become politically charged in many world agendas. Genocide should be prevented by all means because it is bizarre and archaic way of dealing with problems in a region. However, Mamdani (2010) urges that everyone commenting and reacting against the genocide in Darfur should first strive to read and understand the history, politics, and culture of Darfur. This statement shows that the genocide cannot simply be stopped because it is against humanitarianism norms. Peacemakers should dig deeper rather than just the superficial urge to condemn the murderers and blacklist the propellers of violence. The situation needs to be solved after analysis of historical, political and cultural contexts.

Nevertheless, it cannot be accepted that innocent people should lose their lives just because of disagreements between the lines of politics, religion, or ethnicity. The government of Sudan should be held responsible and urged to involve in consensus that will help bring peace to the country. After all, the government needs to protect the people that it is meant to serve.

Humanitarian Crisis

The war has caused a large humanitarian crisis concern of matters such as mass displacement of people, forced migration, and loss of property (De Waal, 2007; Flint and De Waal, 2008). According to De Waal (2007) Darfur became synonymous with war, humanitarian crisis, and massacre since it hit the international headlines in 2004. The United Nations has also described the Darfur situation as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis (Flint & De Waal, 2008). Since 2004, the oil and land conflict in the Darfur region has resulted to sprawling refugee camps, rape, and lurid accounts of Arabs murdering the Africans. Apart from the ugly scene that results from the war, there is a complex twist that involves religion, politics and several decades of internal unrest. This humanitarian tragedy has stirred various groups of people in the population including politicians, world celebrities and students. The challenging part is that the Darfur war is very hard to understand because of the twisted events (Johnson, 2004). While some analysts believe that the war is fuelled by a long internal civil unrest between the Arabs and the Black Africans, other analysts believe that the conflict has a religious base on it (Johnson, 2004). There are claims that conflicts arise as seen of the Sudanese government giving more priority to the Arabs than the Africans in the control, of oil, and worse, the Arabs murder and rape a number of Africans as a result of the conflict. This aspect is hard to understand, because, which government would watch its people get massacred or involved in genocide without taking measures against such actions. Other twisted parts include the sponsoring of the Southern People’s Party (SPLA) by the U.S to drill oil but which has been interpreted as an aim to create a rift between the north and south Sudan. Should the U.S withdraw its sponsorship of a project that will enable a developing economy to reap significant economic benefits? Some critics believe that Sudan, as a county should be left to make its own decisions, but then again, when issues of humanity cannot be sorted, there needs to be a third party that can fight for the rights of the suffering innocent people. Another twist involves the rise of the JEM and SLM to fight for their land and placement of Black African people to control the oil operation. However, on the other side, there is the government introducing the Janjawiid militia to fight its own people in the JEM, and SLM, who are fighting for their land (Johnson, 2004).

The humanitarian crisis in Darfur will continue to occur if the root cause of the situation is not addressed. Considering that there are multi-perspective approaches to the real cause of war and conflict, those seeking peace restorations in the region should address each and every aspect, for a long term solution. The short term solution at the moment is for the United Nations and other charity organizations to provide for solutions to the humanitarian disparities affecting the people, and these include custody, migration permits, food and sanitation.

Disunity and weakened international relations

The continuation of war undermines the global quest for peace and unity at this current age (Johnson, 2004; Mamdani, 2010). Darfur is a locus of a hideous war that has stimulated the outrage of millions of people across the world (De Waal, 2007). There is a high level of activist mobilization and level of media coverage but the society and politics of the Darfur is yet to be understood. As a result of the war in Sudan, cultural evolution in ethnicity and religious identity has taken toll, for instance the presence of the infamous Janjaweed militia (De Waal, 2007). There is also a breakdown in the local administration and the emergence of resistance movements, Arab militia, and regional dimensions to the conflict. The conflict resulted as the Black Africans perceived that they were losing their land to the Arab migrants. Black Africans in southern Sudan are originally farmers while the Arabs came as nomads. The Arabs who migrated into southern Sudan felt that they were superior to the black Africans in the southern and hence decided to take over their land sparking the war (Johnson, 2004). The quest for peace at this scenario should therefore be addressed from two dimensions; First, the identity of land, and second; the control of oil. There needs to be collaboration of the Arabs and the black Africans in southern Sudan. This is their land and it does not only provide a dwelling place, but also offers potent for prospective business. Both local and international interventions should be used to ensure that there is a long term solution for peace (Mamdani, 2010). On one side of the argument, it can be said that the land belongs to the Africans and this also means that the oil fields should be controlled by them. On the other hand, proponents argue that the Arabs have more specialized expertise in the mining of oil and thus should also be given an opportunity to lead the exploitation of the oil minefields. At the drawing table, the sovereignty of the people of Sudan should be respected. A lot of efforts will be needed to establish peace and encourage the harmonious existence of the Arabs and Black Africans. Anyway, this is urgently needed because the more the conflict continues, the less the people of Sudan experience the economic benefits of oil. De Waal (2007) argues that efforts towards peace in Darfur should incorporate both historical and new original research. By understanding the specific causes of the war and its dimensions, specific interventions can be arrived at, to help solve the war problem and let the Darfur people lead a peaceful life once more. There are many prospects for an eternal peace solution in the Darfur region. These include negotiations that can take place through political organizations such as the African Union Mediation, or the Abuja Peace Talks; religious and local political groups; and international peace forums.

Nevertheless, there are also conflicts resulting from various approaches that are being used to restore peace in Darfur and punish any influencers of the war and human injustices. Flint and De Waal (2008) argue that the International criminal court (ICC) risks distorting the on-going peace initiatives in Darfur. Flint and De Waal (2008) believe that if the ICC opens a case against the Sudanese senior officials for their role in the Darfur war crimes, the peace process will be jeopardized and the efforts of the deployed peace makers in the region will be in vain. On the other hand, proponents of punishment against the offenders believe it the only way to ensure that the innocent people who suffered in the war process get justice (Mamdani, 2010). However, as the situation is at the moment, Darfur needs more than just the local interventions. The country should stop being in denial of the war and allow the assistance of the international community, otherwise, the war may continue for a long time.

Although the war in Darfur is based on fighting over land and oil, there are several twists of events and a lot of groups in conflict with one another. The war has taken toll on the people of southern Sudan, but it can be solved through international intervention. The international community and the people of Southern Sudan can still forge peace in Darfur, by addressing all the issues that have resulted to this conflict.

Conclusion

The Darfur war in southern Sudan dates back from the late 2003. Darfur has since become synonymous with war and ugly scenes of massacre and other humanitarian crises. The root cause of the war is believed to be the fight over the control of oil wells in Southern Sudan and also land, which has set the Black Africans and Arabs against one another. The twist of the situation is that so many parties are involved in conflicts against one and as a result, an emergence of militia groups. The most notable militia group is the Janjaweed, set and manipulated by the government against its own people. The war in Darfur has resulted to deaths, forced migrations, refugees, and poor relations of the Sudan government and the international community. Nevertheless, the war in Darfur has more costs than benefits, and thus a long term peace solution should be identified from both the local and international community.

References

De, W. A. (2007). War in Darfur and the search for peace. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.

Flint, J., & De, Waal. A. (2008). Darfur: A Short History of a Long War. London, UK: Zed Books.

Johnson, D. H. (2004). The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars. Oxford, UK: Currey.

Levy, J. 2009. Genocide in Darfur. New York, NY: Rosen Pub.

Mamdani, M. 2010. Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror. New York, NY: Doubleday.