THE DARFUR GENOCIDE
480,000 Dead, 2 Million Displaced
As a Jew I cannot sit idle while genocidal
atrocities continue to unfold in Darfur, Sudan.
-Jan Schakowsky
In 2003, the situation exploded as the government of Sudan responded to a rebellion in the Darfur region of Sudan, beginning a genocidal campaign against civilians that resulted in the deaths of over 300,000 and the displacement of over three million Darfuris. In 2010, the Sudanese government and the Darfuri rebels signed a ceasefire agreement and began long-term peace talks known as the Doha peace forum. During these negotiations, steps were made to provide Darfur with increased regional autonomy under the Sudanese government rather than allow it a referendum to become an independent state like South Sudan. However, since 2011, there has been no additional progress on these agreements and violence in the region continues to escalate with over 400,000 newly displaced in 2014.