Janjaweed

The Janjaweed (variously spelled Janjawid, Jingaweit, Jinjaweed, Janjawiid, Janjiwid, etc.) is an armed militia group in Darfur, western Sudan, comprising fighters of Arab background (mainly from the originally nomadic Baggara people). Since 2003 it has been one of the principal actors in the increasingly bloody Darfur conflict, which has pitted nomadic tribes against the settled arable farmer tribes of the region. It became customary to refer to nomads as "Arabs" and settled as "Blacks", although it is difficult to physically distinguish the two groups: both are black with negroid features, speak Arabic, and are Muslim. One must be extremely careful in classifying the conflict in such simple terms, as it is not a conflict between races, but tribal affiliations.

The name "Janjaweed" means "armed men on horseback." The Janjaweed is the successor to an earlier Arab tribal militia, the Murahilin (literally "nomads"), which had existed for many years beforehand.

History

The Janjaweed was formed in response to attacks on government installations by the two rebel movements: Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA). Both sides have been accused of serious human rights violations. The Janjaweed soon gained the upper hand through better arms, increased mobility, and the support of government forces. The Janjaweed has pursued a systematic policy of ethnic cleansing throughout Darfur, burning down non-Arab villages and driving out their inhabitants. By the summer of 2004 an estimated 10,000-30,000 people had been killed and another million, mostly non-Arabs, had been forced out of their homes.

The militia has pursued fleeing refugees into neighboring Chad, whose army has fought a number of actions against Janjaweed incursions. The Chadian President Idriss Déby has said that "since the start of this war, some 300 Chadian civilians have been killed and thousands of head of cattle stolen by armed men who crossed over from Darfur." [1]

The Arab-dominated Sudanese government has disclaimed any responsibility for the actions of the Janjaweed, and numerous reports have identified collusion between Janjaweed fighters (who are said to have been armed by the government) and the state security forces. At the same time, observers have noted that Janjaweed attacks on the ground have often been supported by air strikes from the Sudanese air force.

Idris Abu Moussa, a 26-year-old Sudanese farmer, states: "They came at 4 a.m. on horseback, on camels, in vehicles, with two helicopters overhead ..."they killed 50 people in my village. My father, grandmother, uncle and two brothers were all killed."..."They don't want any blacks left." - from the Darfur Genocide website

It has been suggested that the Sudanese government has been reluctant to rein in the militia, as it has been an effective opponent of the rebel JEM and SLA. The government has strongly disputed these claims. On June 19 2004 President Omar al-Bashir issued a decree ordering the disarmament of all militias in Darfur, and instructing government forces "to control and pursue all outlaw groups, including rebels and Janjaweed."

Musa Hilal, who heads Darfur's largest Arab tribe [2], is suspected by the US State Department of being a leader of the Arab Janjaweed BBC. The New Yorker quotes him: " I am a tribal leader. ... The government call to arms is carried out through the tribal leaders." He admits recruiting but denies being in the military chain of command, according to Human Rights Watch.

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