The Beginning
The conflict in Darfur began when the rebel groups (Black African Tribes) accused the government of neglecting their region, not supporting their economic needs, and not giving them enough power. The rebels sent out two movements, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), who took arms against the Sudanese government in 2003. The president, Omar Al-Bashir, unleashed Arab miltias known as the Janjaweed who destroyed over 400 villages and forced millions to leave their homes. Omar Al-Bashir denied having any control over the Janjaweed and said he didn't have the power to stop them. Even though he was responsible for the government's conflict with the civilians, he lied to prevent the rebel movements from coming after him and his governmental armies. The Janjaweed began to get out of control and started an ethnic cleansing on the non- Arab groups in Darfur and began to torture innocent people. Many people were raped, burned, killed,and starved to death, and others were left without family members and a home to go to. The Janjaweed destroyed all the food and crops, chopped down trees, poisoned water systems and killed farm animals in villages of Darfur. No one wanted to live in these conditions, so they began to leave if they could.
Map
This is a map of Sudan, the lighter shade of orange is Darfur. The yellowish region is the area affected by violence. As you can see that is roughly half of Darfur. According to the Britannica Encyclopedia, Darfur is approximately 170,000 square miles so half of that is about 85,000 square miles. To put this in perspective, Illinois is only 55,593 square miles. So just imagine how you would feel if you lived in middle part of the yellow region, didn't own a car (like many Darfurian civilians), and were surrounded by violence. Quite daunting, no?! Fortunately Darfur is located along the border of Sudan so some refugees were able to escape to neighboring countries that would have them.