Synopses & Reviews
The humanitarian tragedy in Darfur has stirred politicians, Hollywood celebrities and students to appeal for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Beyond the horrific pictures of sprawling refugee camps and lurid accounts of rape and murder lies a complex history steeped in religion, politics, and decades of internal unrest.
Darfur traces the origins, organization and ideology of the infamous Janjawiid and other rebel groups, including the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement. It also analyzes the confused responses of the Sudanese government and African Union. This thoroughly updated edition also features a powerful analysis of how the conflict has been received in the international community and the varied attempts at peacekeeping.
Review
"The best introduction...their accounts are as readable as they are tragic."--Nicholas D. Kristof in
The New York Review of Books "This brilliant book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the complex history of Darfur and how the very name became synonymous with suffering." --Mia Farrow 'Alex de Waal and Julie Flint have written the definitive history of the Darfur conflict. Very detailed and thoroughly documented from first hand sources, the book will quickly become a classic and will correct some of the outside misperceptions of who did what to whom and why. They have written a balanced account of a very disturbing story, made more confused by government and rebel propaganda, by letting participants and eyewitness observers tell their stories.' - Andrew Natsios, Former Administrator of USAID and US Special Envoy to Sudan
'This is among the best works available on the current Darfur crisis. For a blow by blow account of developments, there is none better.' - Mahmood Mamdani, University of Columbia
Synopsis
Written by two authors with unparalleled first-hand experience of Darfur, this is the definitive guide. Newly updated and hugely expanded, this edition details Darfur's history in Sudan. It traces the origins, organization and ideology of the infamous Janjawiid and rebel groups, including the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement. It also analyses the brutal response of the Sudanese government. The authors investigate the responses by the African Union and the international community, including the halting peace talks and the attempts at peacekeeping. Flint and de Waal provide an authoritative and compelling account of contemporary Africa's most controversial conflict.
About the Author
Alex de Waal is a writer and activist on African issues. He is a fellow of the Global Equity Initiative, Harvard University; Director of the Social Science Research Council program on AIDS and social transformation; and a Director of Justice Africa in London. He lives in Boston.
Julie Flint is a journalist and filmmaker. She has covered topics from Colombia to China and has won several awards. She has been writing about Sudan since 1992, initially as Horn of Africa correspondent for The Guardian and later as a freelance with a special interest in human rights. She divides her time between London and the Middle East.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Maps
Chronology
Glossary
Dramatis Personnae
Preface to Second Edition
1. The People of Darfur
2. The Sudan Government
3. The Janjiwiid
4. The Rebels
5 . A War of Total Destruction, 2003-04
6. Wars within Wars, 2005-06
7. International Reaction
8. The Abuja Peace Talks
9. Endless Chaos
Notes
Bibliography
Index