So I don't mind sounding a little uneducated... what is up in Darfur?

Question

I usually am the most educated among my group of friends but somehow this Darfur thing has flown under my radar. I marked it down as tree huggers being nuts or what have you. But now that they are calling for Lebron and Kobe to make statements things must be serious. I mean rarely does America have to rely on such political strong arms as this. So tell me what is going on. or an article is even better.

Answer 1

The Sudanese government is assisting the Janjaweed, arab militis, in exterminating and gang raping the black population of Darfur.  The Chinese and Russians protect them from serious international consequences by exercising their veto power in the UN security council.

Answer 2

Well, you're a little late to game but I'm pleased you want to know about it. Most Americans can't locate Sudan on a map.

Darfur is a region in the Sudan, mainly populated by economically impoverished animists and Muslims of African descent. Much of Sudan, in particular the groups in power, are Muslims of semitic (specifically Arab) descent. The mixture of ethnicities and cultures is not an easy one, so internecine strife is not unheard of in the Sudan, but the main issue in Darfur is that refugees fleeing the fighting have given reports that indicate the Sudanese government has itself been attacking the people of Darfur in an attempt to drive them out or annihilate them.

Rumors had been circulating for some time that the Sudanese government funded Arab militias known as janjaweed (Arabic for "horseman") who had been burning African settlements and executing the men in Darfur, when in 2006 aide workers collected drawings by refugee children that appeared to be of Sudanese MiG fighters bombing African settlements. Further investigations substantiated that the militias were well-organized and had obtained use of government weaponry.

The issue is thus not one of internecine conflict but rather of a government engaging in genocidal activities against a minority population. Hence the interest of major celebrities and such, who (left-leaning or conservative) are outraged by the indiscriminate use of government force against the people it is supposed to protect.

The international organizations have had difficult time taking any action against the Sudan, however, due to China's support of the Sudanese government, with whom it does a tremendous trade, particularly in energy.