10 Basic Facts about Darfur

1. Sudan is located in North Africa, south of Egypt.

2. Khartoum is the capital of Sudan.

3. The president of Sudan is General Omar al-Bashir.

4. Darfur is a region in western Sudan, about the size of Texas.

5. Most of the residents of Darfur are Muslims.

6. Some Darfurians speak Arabic and identify as Arabs; others speak African dialects and identify as Africans. Many of the African Darfurians belong to the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa tribes.

7. The conflict in Sudan was sparked when rebels from Darfur attacked a government air force base in 2003. The rebels are mostly people from the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa tribes. For years they have felt ignored by the central government in Khartoum.

8. In retaliation for this attack, Sudan's military and the government-backed militias, the Janjaweed, have attacked the African residents of Darfur. Reports indicate that they have burned villages, murdered and maimed residents, poisoned wells, raped women, stolen animals and other valuables, and kidnapped children.

9. The United Nations estimates that since 2003 at least 200,000 Darfurians have been killed.

10. The United Nations estimates that since 2003 at least 2.5 million Darfurians have been forced to leave their villages due to the violence in the region. Most of these people live in IDP camps in Darfur or refugee camps in Chad.