According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Sudanese government is responsible for ethnic cleansing in Darfur, one of the world’s poorest and most inaccessible regions.

The Sudanese government has restricted international media access to Darfur for months, providing limited reports to the press about the conflicts between its two rebel groups – the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) – and the government itself.

Hostility between these groups stems largely from cultural and religious differences in the region: whereas the language and culture of the north are based on Arabic and Islamic faith, the south has its own diverse, mostly-non-Arabic languages and cultures.

In an attempt to tackle the revolt against it, the Sudanese government has assembled a pro-government Arab militia, known as the Janjaweed, to enact horrific acts of violence on the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa civilian populations from which the rebel groups are drawn.

Janjaweed soldiers have bombed villages, raped women and looted houses.  They also have forced approximately one million civilians out of their homes and into government-run concentration camps in Darfur, where they are subject to even greater abuse. The Janjaweed have committed execution-like massacres, scorched farmlands, and destroyed Muslim mosques.

Although more than 130,000 war victims have fled to Chad’s border for safety, HRW reports that the Janjaweed have invaded these areas, too, robbing emergency relief items and torturing refugees.

During a June meeting in Geneva, the United States pledged $188 million for more than 18 months, the European Union pledged 10 million euros, and France 1.4 million euros to aid the refugees along Chad’s border.

Ireland’s Minister for Development, Tom Kitt, says that this aid is urgent, but not sufficient. "We must also send a strong unequivocal message to the Sudanese government that it .... protect its citizens and perform in accordance with the cease-fire agreement, disarm the militia and give access [to international aid and journalists]," he said.

Abashouk, a camp in Darfur erected to provide aid for refugees and civilians who have lost their homes to violence, is considered one of the best camps in the region. When U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Sudan on June 30, 2004, he said, "The people in this camp are being given hope as well as sustenance." However, "we don’t want them to stay in camps; we all want them to return to their homes."

You can make a difference in protecting these helpless refugees by writing a letter to your elected representatives, urging them to support U.S. and international efforts to provide aid for the refugees in Chad.