PHOTOGRAPHY: Darfur Refugees

The conflict in Darfur started in 2003, when groups of African based rebels started attacking Sudanese Army bases and government forces, in protest for the long neglect of the western province. The Khartoum government, unable to deal militarily with the rebels, started using Arab clan militias, known as Janjaweed, in order to crush the rebellion.

Together with Sudanese air force, Janjaweed militias killed, raped, burned and drove millions of Africans for the villages during 2003-2004. Overall, an estimated 250,000 were killed in the conflict, and 2.5 Million Sudanese, predominantly Africans, had to flee their homes. About 250,000 of them fled west, to neighboring Chad, where they sought refuge.

At the end of April, Uriel Sinai traveled to the Central African country, to report on the situation of the refugees from Darfur and the local population in the region, from two refugee camps and a few camps for internally displaced people, in which more then 50,000 people barely survive.