The War in Darfur Free Essay Example, 1000 words

Causes of the War. The Legacy of Colonialism in the Sudan Sudanese government had never been freed from the blow of colonialist policy. Political and the administrative capital, Khartoum was built on divisive and exploitive culture way back during the Anglo-Egyptian and Turco-Egyptian colonial periods in the 18th century. The rulers applied the divide and rule policy which brought about inequality in wealth allocation being witnessed presently in the modern Sudan. British colonial ‘divide and rule policy (1899-1956), which estranged Sudan along both ethnical and geographical lines to improve central obligation of social and political orders, created a country that is deeply divided between the African blacks and Muslim-Arab, and between South and North. Africans enjoyed government privileges and were converted to Christianity. These elements created the discriminatory, conflict-ridden and exploitive practices that provided the possibility of political and ethnic clashes in both colonial and the sovereign Sudan. Crop farming and Pastoralist farmers Environmental dilapidation and struggle over dwindling resources have played a significant role in the conflict. The Darfur region comprises of several climatic zones. Southern section lies within the rich savanna, which gets considerable rain. We will write a custom essay sample on The War in Darfur or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Darfur in the North is an expansive desert that extends up to the Libyan and Egyptian borders. Agriculture is the main money-making activity of the majority of the inhabitants. Agriculture depends a great deal on rain and land productiveness, thereby exposing the people to natural disasters and climatic changes. In the 1980s and 1990s population growth, drought, and desertification led to a sharp reduction in food production and caused extensive land ownership food shortage. The main means of livelihood among the Darfurians is nomadic pastoralism with the Arab-speaking Baqqara being the largest clan practicing it. As the climate changed, the projected time of crop harvest became irregular, and many farmers switched to animal husbandry and needed grazing land. Pastoralists, on the other hand, were also experiencing the effects of the famine as grazing land shrank significantly (Flint 61). Camel nomads maintained the conventional arrangements, which became a cause of main clashes. Land ownership Land ownership has been a major source of conflict due to the land tenure system. Land tenure was based on the Hakura system under the Fur kingdom which tends to increase inter-communal tensions.