^Although he was a Chadian rebel leader and he was also the head of an insurgent militia, Mohammed Nour Abdelkerim was so close to the Sudanese Armed Forces that he enlisted as an officer in the Popular Defence Forces, while his troops were temporarily organized as a regular pro-government militia. He and his militia left Sudanese service in 2005 in order to take part in the Chadian Civil War (2005–2010).[8]
^Number does not represent the number of soldiers stationed in Darfur, but the total number of military personnel.[26][27]
One side of the conflict is mainly composed of the Sudanese military, police, and the Janjaweed, a Sudanese militia group whose members are mostly recruited among Arabized indigenous Africans and a small number of Bedouin of the northern Rizeigat; the majority of other Arab groups in Darfur remained uninvolved.[36]
The other side is made up of rebel groups, notably the SLM/A and the JEM, recruited primarily from the non-Arab Muslim Fur, Zaghawa, and Masalit ethnic groups. The African Union and the United Nations also have a joint peacekeeping mission in the region, named UNAMID. Although the Sudanese government publicly denies that it supported the Janjaweed, evidence supports claims that it provided financial assistance and weapons and coordinated joint attacks, many against civilians.[37][38] Estimates of the number of human casualties range up to several hundred thousand dead, from either combat or starvation and disease. Mass displacements and coercive migrations forced millions into refugee camps or across the border, creating a humanitarian crisis. U.S.Secretary of StateColin Powell described the situation as a genocide or acts of genocide.[39]
The Sudanese government and the JEM signed a ceasefire agreement in February 2010, with a tentative agreement to pursue peace. The JEM has the most to gain from the talks and could see semi-autonomy much like South Sudan.[40] However, talks were disrupted by accusations that the Sudanese army launched raids and air strikes against a village, violating the Tolu agreement. The JEM, the largest rebel group in Darfur, vowed to boycott negotiations.[41]
The August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration, signed by military and civilian representatives during the Sudanese Revolution, requires that a peace process leading to a peace agreement be made in Darfur and other regions of armed conflict in Sudan within the first six months of the 39-month transition period to democratic civilian government.[42][43]
A comprehensive peace agreement was signed on 31 August 2020 between the Sudanese authorities and several rebel factions to end armed hostilities.[44]
^Ofcansky, Thomas P. (2015). "Foreign Military Assistance" (PDF). In Berry, LaVerle (ed.). Sudan: a country study (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. pp. 344–347. ISBN 978-0-8444-0750-0.
^Cite error: The named reference raisethevoices_4Aug2019_const_dec was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Const_Dec_En_unofficial was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference aljazeera2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).