Why do wars occur?
Causes of war:
· Self-defence – to defend your country if it is attacked.
· Economics or natural resources – water, land, oil
· Fear
· National pride
· Fighting against aggression and injustice
· Long-standing racial or ethnic hatred.
· Protecting people from persecutions and exploitation.
Every war is unique. Reasons for war can be very complicated.
· Self-defence – to defend your country if it is attacked.
· Economics or natural resources – water, land, oil
· Fear
· National pride
· Fighting against aggression and injustice
· Long-standing racial or ethnic hatred.
· Protecting people from persecutions and exploitation.
Every war is unique. Reasons for war can be very complicated.
The War in Darfur, 2003-2007 and on-going
What?
· The war in Darfur is a civil war.
· UN – over 2.5million people have been affected, lost their homes and their land.
Where?
· In the west of Sudan, Africa.
· The Sudanese government has been accused of mass killings and violations of human rights.
Who?
· One side is the Sudanese Army funded by the Sudanese government and an Arab military group called the Janjaweed.
· The other side are a number of different groups, mainly non-Arab, such as the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement.
Why?
Factor 1: economic/environment
· Years of drought and increasing desertification means food and water resources have become scarce.
· Nomadic people and their animals have been forced to move south to find food.
· The people who own the farmland in the south are also struggling to survive.
· Farmers have been growing ‘cash crops’ (crops they can sell for more money) meaning that less food is being grown.
· Nomadic people and their animals have been forced to move south to find food.
· The people who own the farmland in the south are also struggling to survive.
· Farmers have been growing ‘cash crops’ (crops they can sell for more money) meaning that less food is being grown.
Factor 2: Long-standing ethnic hatred
· Both sides have had problems with the other for a long time, both religious and ethnic.
· The Sudanese government has been accused of oppressing and persecuting non-Arabs and favouring Arabs.
Factor 3: National pride
· Some parts of the South of Sudan wanted to be made an independent country, not ruled by the current Sudanese government. (This happened in 2011)
· These forces started the violence in Darfur and got worse quickly because the government want Sudan to stay as one country so they fought back very aggressively.
Factor 4: Remote location
· There are few transport or communication links in this part of Sudan.
· Because of this it took a long time for the outside world to find out what was happening. By the time they knew something was wrong may people had already been killed and thousands had lost their homes.