An Appraisal of the Crisis in Darfur in Western Sudan and the Prospect for a Lasting Peace

The Darfur crisis in western Sudan started in February 2003. It has to date claimed the lives of an estimated number of 200,000 people and another 2.5 million have been displaced and are now living in make shift refugee camps in Chad and neighbouring countries. All attempts to broker peace among the major warring factions had proved abortive and there is little or no hope that the displaced people would one day return to their villages. The killings, raping, suffering and starvation had continued despite the presence of the African Union troops which numbered about 7000 and deployed since 2004. A lot of propaganda, misinformation, fabrications and distortions have gone across to the public in trying to explain the causes and attendant consequence of the said conflict. These have clearly stood on the way to a real understanding of the genesis of the crisis for a lasting peace to be obtained and peace building to be accelerated, and end this bloodshed and suffering that had been the bane of the region for the past five years. This paper is an appraisal of the various views and opinions that had been put forward by different interest groups on the causes of the crisis, its impact and the way forward towards the attainment of peace.African Research Review Vol. 2 (3) 2008: pp. 315-33