Current Total
$4400.00

Darfur has been embroiled in a deadly conflict for over three years. At least 400,000 people have been killed; more than 2 million displaced, and more than 3.5 million completely reliant on international aid for survival.

Since early 2003, Sudanese armed forces and Sudanese government-backed militia known as “Janjaweed” have been fighting two rebel groups in Darfur. The stated political aim of the rebels has been to compel the government of Sudan to address underdevelopment and the political marginalization of the region. In response, the Sudanese government's regular armed forces and the Janjaweed - largely composed of fighters of Arab nomadic background - have targeted civilian populations and ethnic group from which the rebels primarily draw their support.

The Bush administration calls this
genocide.

The UN says that it is
 “the largest and most complex humanitarian problem on the globe.”

The Sudanese government and the Janjaweed militias are responsible for the burning and destruction of hundreds of rural villages, the killing of tens of thousands of people and rape and assault of thousands of women and girls.

The Darfur Peace Agreement was brokered in May 2006 between the government of Sudan and one faction of Darfur rebels. However, the violence has escalated, with in-fighting among the various rebel groups and factions dramatically increasing and adding a new layer of complexity to the conflict. This violence has made it dangerous, if not impossible, for most of the millions of displaced persons to return to their homes.

In August, the UN's top humanitarian official stated that the situation in Darfur is "going from real bad to catastrophic."

Background information compiled by savedarfur.org

Questions or comments? Send an e-mail

Dimes for Darfur is an initiative of:
North Carolina Hillel Foundation
210 West Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC 27516