Sudan Humanitarian Crisis and United States’ African Foreign Policy
Problem What should the United States do vis-à-vis the Darfur crisis after the Naivasha agreement? Should the USA take a stern position towards Sudan government? Background There has been tension in Darfur for many years over land and grazing rights between the mostly nomadic Arabs and farmers from the Fur, Massaleet and Zagawa communities. The conflict in Darfur began in the arid and impoverished region early in 2003 after a rebel group began attacking government targets, claiming that the Darfur region was being neglected by Khartoum. The rebels say the government is oppressing black Africans in favor of Arabs. Two main rebel groups are the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), which have been linked to senior Sudanese opposition politician Hassan al-Turabi. Over the last two years 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes in Darfur, where many have seen their families killed, abducted, abused or raped and are now living in makeshift she...