Janjaweed

TheJanjaweed(Arabic:جَنْجَويد,romanized:Janjawīd,lit.'"Devils on horseback"'; also transliteratedJanjaweed) are anArabnomadmilitiagroup operating in theSahel regionthat operates inSudan, particularly inDarfurand easternChad.They have also been speculated to be active inYemen.According to theUnited Nationsdefinition, Janjaweed membership consists of Arab nomad tribes from the Sahel, the core of whom areAbbala Arabs, traditionally employed incamel herding, with significant recruitment from theBaggara.
Janjaweednomadswere initially at odds with Darfur's sedentary population due to competition over natural grazing grounds and farmland, a conflict exacerbated by dwindling rainfall anddrought. The Janjaweed were a major player in theDarfur conflictbetween 2003 and 2020, in opposition to theSudan Liberation Movement/Armyand theJustice and Equality Movementrebels.In 2013, theRapid Support Forcesgrew out of the Janjaweed.
The origin of the wordJanjaweedis unclear. It may derive from the Arabic wordsjinn(Arabic:جِنّ,lit.'hidden, i.e.genie,demonorinsane') andʾajāwīd(Arabic:أَجاويد,lit.'horses, horsemen'), and thus has been translated into English by some sources as "devils on horseback".Other sources suggest it may derive from the Persian wordjangavi(Persian:جنگجوی,lit.'warriors'),or aportmanteauof three words:جَن(jan) from English "gun";jinn; andʾajāwīd.According to Darfuris, "Janjaweed" is a word from the Chadian dialect of Arabic that is used for criminals, naughty people, unruly children, etc. The word "Janjaweed" was used byFrançois Tombalbaye, the Christian President ofChad, to marginalize his Muslim political opponents.
InDarfur, a western state in Sudan, Libyan leaderMuammar Gaddafisupported the creation of theTajammu al-Arabi(Arab Gathering) militia, which was described byGérard Prunieras "a militantly racist and pan-Arabist organization which stressed the 'Arab' character of the province".The Arab Gathering shared members and a source of support with theIslamic Legion, and the distinction between the two is often ambiguous.
The nearly continuous cross-border raids contributed to a separate ethnic conflict within Darfur that killed about 9,000 people between 1985 and 1988.The Janjaweed leadership has some background in Gaddafi's mercenary forces.
The Janjaweed first appeared in 1988 afterChadianpresidentHissène Habré, backed byFranceand theUnited States, defeated theLibyan army. Gaddafi's Chadian protégé,Acheikh Ibn-Oumar, retreated with his partisan forces to Darfur, where they were hosted bySheikh Musa Hilal, the newly elevated chief of theRizeigat Arab tribesof north Darfur.Hilal's tribesmen had earlier smuggled Libyan weapons to Ibn-Oumar's forces.A French-Chadian incursion destroyed Ibn-Oumar's camp, but his weapons remained with hisMahamidhosts.
Throughout the 1990s, the Janjaweed were Arab partisans who pursued a local agenda of controlling land, and were tolerated by the Sudan Government. The majority of Darfur's Arabs, theBaggara, became involved in the war over grazing territory.In 1999–2000, faced with threats of insurgency in Western and Northern Darfur,Khartoum's security armed the Janjaweed forces.
As the insurgency escalated in February 2003, spearheaded by theSudan Liberation Movement/Armyand theJustice and Equality Movement, the Sudanese government responded by using the Janjaweed as its main counter-insurgency force. Janjaweed forces were ordered to attack and recover the rebel-held areas of Darfur, conducting a campaign against rebels in Darfur. In 2004, theU.S. State Departmentand others named leading Janjaweed commanders, including Musa Hilal, as genocide suspects. By early 2006, many Janjaweed had been absorbed into theSudan Armed Forcesincluding thePopular Defense ForcesandBorder Guards. Meanwhile, the Janjaweed expanded to include some Arab tribes in eastern Darfur who were not historically associated with the original Janjaweed. A political base was also reestablished in Chad as part of theUnited Front for Democratic Change(FUC) coalition.
By October 2007, only the United States government had declared the Janjaweed killings in Darfur to begenocide, since they had killed an estimated 200,000–400,000 civilians over the previous three years.TheUN Security Councilcalled for the Janjaweed to be disarmed.On 14 July 2008, the prosecutor of theInternational Criminal Court filed genocide charges against Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, accusing him of masterminding attempts to wipe out African tribes in Darfur with a campaign of murder, rape and deportation.
In 2013, theRapid Support Forces(RSF) were formed from the Janjaweed to fight against rebel groups in Darfur,South Kordofan, andBlue Nile.
In 2023, international diplomats insisted that the RSF merge into theSudanese Armyas part of theSudanese transition to democracy.By April 2023, power struggles developed between Sudan'sde factonational leader, army commanderAbdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the leader of the RSF,Hemedti. On 15 April 2023, clashes between RSF and army forces erupted across the country.
By the second day of the conflict, 78 people had been reported killed. Among the dead were threeWorld Food Programme(WFP) workers, triggering the organization to suspend its work in Sudan, where it had been a principal force in alleviating hunger. United Nations Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterresdemanded immediate justice for the killings and called for an end to the conflict.
Diplomats from theAfrican UnionandSaudi Arabiamediated a three-hour humanitarianceasefireto permit the evacuation of the injured. Despite this, the battles continued, as both sides claimed to have seized control of key sites in and around the capital city.