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Darfur: a chronology of the crisis
By Times Staff
Published May 10, 2006
January 1956: Sudan becomes independent of Britain and Egypt. Differences in ethnicity, language and religion will cause suspicion and fighting between the Arab north and the African south. 1989: Brig. Gen. Omar al-Bashir overthrows the government. 1992: By now, Osama bin Laden has settled in Sudan, where he establishes al-Qaida and a terrorist training camp in the north. February 2003: Rebels in Darfur rise up against the central government, which they accuse of neglect. September 2003: Cease-fire reached, but it doesn't hold. U.N. appeals for humanitarian aid. December 2003: U.N. humanitarian official Jan Egeland says Darfur "has quickly become one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world." More than a million people need aid, including about 600,000 displaced. January 2004: Army moves to quell rebel uprising in Darfur; hundreds of thousands flee to neighboring Chad. April 2004: The U.N.'s Egeland says a "scorched-earth" campaign of cleansing Africans from Darfur is being conducted by Arab Janjaweed militias. The government and Darfur rebels agree to a cease-fire, which will be violated frequently. May 2004: African Union cease-fire monitors arrive. August 2004: U.N. humanitarian agencies say they have received just $288-million of $722-million needed. September 2004: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell describes Darfur killings as genocide. October 2004: U.N. says an estimated 70,000 people have died. Rwandan troops arrive to join Nigerian soldiers monitoring shaky cease-fire. January 2005: U.N. report accuses government and Janjaweed of systematic abuses, but not genocide. March 2005: Security Council authorizes the freezing of assets and a travel ban on individuals defying the cease-fire or violating human rights. Votes to refer war crimes suspects to the International Criminal Court. September 2005: New round of peace talks opens in Abuja, Nigeria. March 2006: U.N. estimates 180,000 people have died; number of displaced could rise to 4-million. April 25, 2006: U.N. Security Council imposes sanctions on four Sudanese. President Bashir rejects proposal for U.N. peacekeepers. April 28: United Nations cuts food ration in half because of a lack of money. April 30: Deadlock in Darfur peace talks taking place in Abuja, Nigeria. African Union extends deadline. Thousands in the United States have rallied in the last two days in support of Darfur. May 2: Deadline for peace agreement is again extended. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick arrives in Abuja, along with envoys from Britain and Libya. May 5: Government and largest rebel faction sign an agreement. Two other rebel groups do not. Sources: United Nations, BBC News, Council on Foreign Relations, Times wires
[Last modified May 10, 2006, 08:56:46]
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