• Darfur Testimonies
  
• Mark Brecke Slideshow
  
• The Youngest Witnesses
  
• Sources
  

During the last few years, the press and international officials have often referred to the genocide in Darfur as a humanitarian crisis, the same term used for the destruction visited on people by a drought or a flood. It is important to note, however, that what is happening in Darfur is not a natural disaster, but one perpetrated needlessly by the Sudanese government, most specifically its president, Omar al-Bashir.

Darfur is located in the western section of Sudan, geographically the largest country in Africa. Sudan, located in the east of the continent, is surrounded by Egypt, Libya, Uganda, Zaire, Chad, the Central African Republic and Ethiopia. Sudan has long been considered a terrorist government by the United States due to its history of harboring known terrorists and terrorist cells. The country is also well known for many years of repression, killing, starvation, rape and violence inflicted by the government on its own people. This is particularly true in Southern Sudan, where black Christians and Animists were targeted for decades by the government in a campaign of killing that has left over 2 million dead. Since 1999, oil money from exploitation of the oilfields of Southern Sudan has provided Sudan with the capital to finance the terror. Though a fragile Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the North (where the capital, Khartoum, is located) and South was signed in January of 2005, the murderous onslaught against civilians has not stopped. The newest targets of violence are the Black Muslim Africans of Darfur, where what the U.S. government acknowledges as genocide, has been occurring for the last 3.5 years.

The current crisis began in February of 2003 when Darfur rebels attacked a government installation there. The attack was planned as a protest to what the Darfuri believed was the omission of their inclusion in the CPA as well as a general lack of protection and security by the Khartoum government for black villages against violent attacks by Arab nomadic groups, known as Janjaweed (Arabic for “evil men on horseback”). In response, the government
further armed and empowered the Janjaweed militia to continue and step-up attacks on civilians. It is estimated that since the beginning of the conflict the violence has left over 400,000 people dead, 2 million internally displaced, countless women raped and over 300,000 in refugee camps across the border in Chad.

In April, 2006, large numbers of activists across the United States staged rallies to end the genocide in Darfur. The focus of the message was for the US government to put more pressure on the Government of Sudan (GoS) to allow a multi-national peacekeeping force with a mandate to protect civilians into the region. A week after the rallies, the US helped broker the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA). Unfortunately, though GoS and the largest of the Darfur rebel groups signed the agreement in May of 2006, nearly all of the
deadlines for disarmament and cessation of violence have passed while the situation has only worsened. The people of Darfur are still in grave danger of violence from Janjaweed militia and Sudanese soldiers (who have been found to be aiding in the attacks), the number of deaths has dramatically increased, and humanitarian workers are being targeted and murdered. The violence has spread into neighboring Chad, and many are dying of starvation and malnourishment, as it gets more and more difficult to provide the necessary aid.

Humanitarian and Policy organizations continue to push for a UN force to take over from a weak Africa Union mission in Darfur in September even though the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, has repeatedly said that such a force will not be permitted to enter the country. Oil trading partners, especially China, have also continuously blocked the UN Security Council in condemning
Sudan or applying sanctions. In the meantime, the Bush administration has been reluctant to alienate the Khartoum government because of the belief that Sudan’s cooperation is essential in the war on terror.

It is the goal of The International Citizen’s Tribunal for Sudan to challenge the Sudanese government's denial of responsibility. In shining a spotlight on the deeds of Omar al-Bashir and others in his corrupt administration, it will call to account those culpable for Sudan's shameful history of serial genocide, hopefully hastening the day when the Darfuri people will have justice.

• DARFUR TESTIMONIES
  
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• a short slideshow/interview with Mark Brecke about the genocide.
  
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• “THE YOUNGEST WITNESSES” – a slideshow of drawings done by children in the refugee and displaced persons camps.
  
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• Brian Steidle photo evidence of government involvement in Janjaweed attacks. http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/alert/darfur/steidle/
  
  
• http://hrw.org/video/2005/musa/ - interview with Musa Hilal, leader of the janjaweed militia.
  

1. When the Janjawid arrived, I took my daughter in my arms and ran away but I was shot in the leg and had to slow down. That is when my daughter Husna was shot.
   The father of a three-year-old girl who was killed in Bir Kedouas
2. They killed my two sons, my husband and my brother. They took everything I had and then they shot me. They took everything I have.
   A displaced woman who lost a leg
3. One Sunday after the attack on Djawara, some girls from our village went to gather firewood in the wadi and came across some Janjawid. One of them managed to escape to warn us. When we, parents and other villagers arrived in the wadi, the Janjawid shot at us. The four girls were raped. Here girls have a duty to get married – there are hardly any single people – but none would marry these girls now that this has happened. The four girls are 13, 10, 12 and 9.
   A resident of Djawara
4. Our village was attacked twice on April 12, 2006. It was a Wednesday. They came in the morning, then came back around 3 pm. I was there. The Janjawid were supported by the Mimi and the Wadai. These are our neighbors, and they have been living with us for a long time.
   The chief of Agogo village
5. We heard gunshots. We ran to see what was happening and found our fathers and brothers dead. They had taken our cattle. We gathered together and went after them. It was 5.30 in the morning. After they killed 4 or 5 of us we couldn’t afford to fight any more because they have heavy weapons and we only have traditional ones. That’s why we pulled back. To be honest, I used to think that the Janjawid were greedy because they used to come and steal our cattle. But to reach the point where they’re killing such large numbers of people is beyond our comprehension. It goes beyond us. If it’s something clear it’s easy for us to understand. But this thing is happening in another country. We heard about it but suddenly now it’s come to our country. It could be a political thing but we don’t know.
   A displaced villager
6. How are we supposed to survive?
   A villager from Moukchacha
7. If a man goes out to farm, they get shot. And when a woman goes out they get mugged and raped. About two, three, four, five women have been raped recently. We can’t do anything to stop it in case they kill us.
   The chief of the village of Djimenez
8. We didn’t come here for fun. We came because we saw real blood running like water in our village. It was dreadful. They’ve killed all our men and left us helpless. The men used to feed us but now there’s no one to help us at all. They used knives to cut the men’s throats and guns to shoot down defenseless people. Now we can’t even find food to eat in our own country. They say they take care of refugees but it seems they don’t understand that we’re refugees in our own country. We can’t relax in our own country. They’ve asked us to move and they want to split us up and send us to five different places. Imagine all these children with no proper education – no schools, nothing. We’ve asked them for food and they can’t give us any. So how can they provide us with schools?
   A displaced woman in Goz Beïda
9. Many of us were killed and we had to let the cattle go and return to our villages. When we came back though, we heard shooting now near the villages we had come running from. While we were gone the Janjawid had encircled our villages and when we tried to get back in they shot at us. Inside the villages they killed all the men they could. Over the next days they came back over and over again, each time taking more things till we had nothing worth taking anymore.
   The leader of Modaina village
10. The first attack on the village happened on September 20, 2005 at about 7 am. They came back the same morning at 10 am. During the attack, many people were killed. The Janjawid were many, maybe 50, in military uniforms. They were supported by the Arabs of the neighboring cattle camp. The night before the attack, the Janjawid spent the night with them at the cattle camp. The Janjawid got information from children. They asked them questions about cattle owners. When children refused to answer their questions, they were beaten up and had hot mud put on their head.
    A woman from Koloy
11. All the faithful were kneeling down for prayer at 6:30 on December 1, 2005, when the Janjawid entered by the two doors of the mosque. There were more than 50 of them and as soon as they had got into the building, they started firing at people. There was a stampede and people ran in every direction. Four people were killed right in front of me and three others were wounded. My younger brother, Mahamat Adam, was hit right in front of me. The bullet went through his eye and came out through his throat. He was also shot in the back. The Janjawid ululated and called us slaves. At one point, I heard them say, "The slaves have left, let us sack the village." We set off for Koloy. We buried our dead at Hadjarbeid. We stayed at Koloy for one month but soon left because we were afraid of being attacked.
    A villager from Djedida, Koloy canton
12. In this country with its diverse population, if you give guns to one group you’re pitting brother against brother and that’s volatile and it’s not good. And who is it that’s done that? The Sudanese government has done that.
    The Sultan of Dar Sila
13. I was in my village when it was attacked. It was around 2.30 pm. There was a thick smoke coming from our gardens, where we used to grow sugar cane, mango trees, bananas and vegetables, 10 minutes walk from our village. We took our spears, arrows and buckets. When we arrived we saw the Janjawid who were standing watching the fire. People from other villages who had come to help us were also trapped. We used our arrows and spears against the Janjawid but there was not much we could do. The fighting lasted three hours. Many of us were killed. The Janjawid were running after those who were trying to flee. Djimeze is a village of 153 households. After the attack, the villagers fled to Dog Dore.
    The chief of the village of Djimeze
14. People were in the village when the Janjawid arrived at 10 am. They were more than 300 and they were divided in three columns which were heading in different directions. They were ululating and shouting, “We came to kill the black slaves.” They came in the houses and ran after those who were trying to flee. I was running away next to the imam who was very old. He was shot four times in the back and in the leg. They then burnt the village. Only 10 out of 100 houses remained intact. The villagers fled to the village of Muruske.
    A resident of Bir Kedouas village
15. We will not move until they provide us with security, food, water, schools and even hospitals. We’ll stay in Goz Beida for our own safety.
    A villager from Modaina