Janjawid
The Janjawid ( Arabic جنجويد, DMG Ǧanǧawīd ; English transcription: Janjaweed ) are an armed militia in the Darfur region of western Sudan . The group consists of mounted fighters, most of whom come from Bedouin or nomadic societies, i. This means that the majority are Abbala (Rizeigat groups living nomadically in the north of Darfur). Veterans of the former Islamic Legion of Muammar al-Gaddafi also joined her . The name Janjawid (from Arabic: Djinn "spirit, demon", and possibly the English word gun , "rifle" borrowed from Arabic , as well as jawad "horse") means "mounted devil" or "devil on horses".
The majority of the Janjawid speak Arabic as their mother tongue and are Muslims .
They are the successors of previous Abbala militias who Murahilin that the Sudanese central government with that of the already since the 1980s on the outskirts of the conflict south derived Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in the American Civil War in South Sudan were supported and part of the government armed.
Since 2003, the Janjawid have been the main aggressor in the conflict in the Darfur region . The attacks are also taking place on Chadian territory and affecting refugees from Sudan as well as Chadians. It can be assumed that there are close ties between Chadian rebels and the Janjawid.
history
In 1916, the independent sultanate of Darfur was incorporated into Sudan. Due to the scarce resources there was always potential for conflict between the settled peoples ( Fur , Masalit , Zaghawa ) and the nomadic peoples of the region. Due to the increasing spread of the desert and long dry periods , both grassland and water became scarce, which intensified the conflict.
In the 1980s, the Sudanese government supplied northern Sudanese militia with weapons to fight insurgents in South Sudan . The interests of the region were not taken into account in the all-Sudanese peace process. For many Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa this reinforced the impression that the region was being marginalized both politically and economically.
To end the marginalization enforce, formed in February 2003, two rebel groups Sudan Liberation Army (SLA Sudan Liberation Army ) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM Justice and Equality Movement ) and started an armed struggle against the government. This reacted with military means and also massively mobilized militias, the Janjawid, which they equipped with weapons. Their instrumentalization was made possible primarily by the existing conflicts between sedentary and nomadic ethnic groups, exacerbated by the increasing aridization (desertification) and the associated marginalized position of the nomads in the region, which is compensated for by joining the Islamist government and the ideology of pan-Arabism could be.
Like the rebels, the Janjawid committed numerous human rights violations against the settled civilian population: mass executions, rape , evictions, and the destruction of villages and wells. The Sudanese government provided air support for attacks on villages when necessary.
In doing so, they proceeded with a consistency that raised accusations of ethnic cleansing and even genocide from many sides . By the summer of 2004, an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people had been killed and more than a million had been displaced, some to neighboring Chad . In October 2006, the Sudan Tribune gave the number of 200,000 deaths - through direct violence or indirectly through hunger - and two million displaced persons.
On May 5, 2006 , a ceasefire was signed in Abuja between the government and a rebel group, the SLA faction of Minni Arcua Minnawi . However, most of the rebels did not accept the treaty and the conflict continued practically unchanged. The attacks by the Janjawid against the civilian population with the support of the Sudanese government continued. By June 2012, the number of those killed had risen to around 400,000 and that of displaced persons to 2.5 million.
Refugee crisis in Europe
Since the refugee crisis in Europe from 2015 onwards , the EU has endeavored to prevent people smuggling through Sudan to Libya with the help of Sudan. The government is indirectly supported in this. The New York Times reported in April 2018 that the regime is using a militia known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to crack down on people smugglers. The troops are said to be recruited from Janjawid and earn money from smuggling themselves, as well as being responsible for human rights violations. The RSF is commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Daglo , who has been deputy chairman of the ruling military council since the 2019 military coup .
equipment
In addition to the usual desert clothing made of long robes that offer protection from the sun, the Jwanzhawid are equipped with assault rifles and grenade launchers. Pages from the Koran worn under the robes are supposed to protect them from bullets.
Web links
- The German Foreign Office on the crisis in Darfur
- Report by a former Janjaweed in Sudan Tribune of 19 October 2006 (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Richard L. Cravatts: A BDS Call For Disarmament in the Middle East . FrontPage Magazine, June 13, 2012
- ↑ Patrick Kingsley: By Stifling Migration, Sudan's Feared Secret Police Aid Europe. New York Times, April 22, 2018 (English)