Conflicts and Genocide How does the United States handle present day conflicts in Africa that are influenced by the past?

Prior to WWII, African tribes were the traditional political unit. Many of today’s political problems and conflicts stem the impact of years of colonial rule.

Reasons for the United Nations involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa Colonial rule created numerous issues throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, and currently 7 of the 15 United Nations peacekeeping missions are in Africa. Rwanda and Sudan have been urgent and devastating.

What is Genocide? The deliberate and systematic extermination of an ethnic, racial, political, or religious group.

Stages of Genocide Classification – “Us vs. Them” mentality, creation of categories for different people Symbolization – Names or symbols are given to the classifications Dehumanization – Deny the humanity of the group. Preparation – Victims are identified and separated out because of their ethnic or religious identity Extermination – Mass killing Denial – Perpetrators burn the bodies, cover up evidence, intimidate witnesses, and admit nothing.

Somalia

Somalia 1992 Years of warfare among rival clans caused famine on a biblical scale. 300,000 civilians died of starvation. Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the most powerful of the warlords, ruled the capital Mogadishu. Aidid seized international food shipments at the ports. Hunger was his weapon.

April 1993 The world responded. Behind a force of 20,000 United States Marines, food was delivered and order restored. Aidid waited until the Marines withdrew, and then declared war on the remaining United Nations peacekeepers. In June, Aidid’s militia ambushed and slaughtered 24 Pakistani Soldiers, and began targeting American personnel.

Saturday, October 2, 1993 At a Red Cross Food Distribution Center unarmed civilians were fired upon. “This food is the property of Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Go back to your homes.” Delta Force was advised not to assist because they were not being fired upon themselves. Black Hawk Down

The Result The situation became dire when in one attempt to capture Aidid two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, and a firefight ensued. The situation proved to be disastrous for the U.S. and created reluctance to enter Africa in the future. Today Somalia still suffers from severe governmental and economic instability.

Rwanda

Rwandan Genocide Hutu Tutsi Majority of the Rwandan people Discriminated against by the Belgians Shorter, dark skinned Tutsi Minority of the Rwandan population Favored by the Belgian colonists Taller, lighter skinned Rwandan Refugee Camp in Zaire

Rwanda and Burundi were torn by ethnic strife since independence from Belgium in 1962. Hutus make up 85% of population while the Tutsis 15%. Hutus were farmers, while the Tutsis were more aristocratic.

Belgians gave Tutsis more land rights and more privileges as well as government jobs solely to them. When Belgium lost control in 1962, it tried to set up a Tutsi government. When the Belgians left there was a power vacuum and the area split into two: Rwanda – controlled by Hutus Burundi– controlled by Tutsis

In 1990, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) attempted to overthrow the Hutu led Rwandan government. UN peacekeepers tried to stop the violence. Peace accords were signed in Aug. 1993, but after a plane crash killed the presidents of both Rwanda and Burundi, ethnic violence erupted. 11 UN peacekeepers were executed because they were in the way.

Armed with grenades, AK-47s, and machetes, Hutus slaughtered an estimated 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu sympathizers in 100 days. Tutsi’s were told by radio to stay in their homes while a 30,000 member militia group, known as the Interahamwe ravaged through neighborhoods, and ordinary Hutus killed their Tutsi neighbors. The killings went five times faster than the Nazis killed in WWII. The genocidal slaughter has been shown to have been carefully orchestrated by the Hutu government in advance.

Despite horrific reports of genocide, no other country came to the Tutsi's assistance. The UN, already stationed in Rwanda, withdrew soon after their 11 soldiers were killed. A Tutsi rebel force, the Rwandan Patriotic Front, swept across the country in a 14-week civil war that overtook the Hutu extremists Resulted in 1.7 million Hutu refugees in the Congo.

Sudan Sudan has been at war with itself for more than three-quarters of its existence

The First Sudanese Civil war took place from 1955- 1972 and was between the north and south. The Second Sudanese Civil War started in 1983 and continued until peace was negotiated in 2005. During the second civil war, more than two million people were killed and more than four million have been displaced.

The Lost Boys of Sudan are a group of boys – girls were also displaced and targeted – as young as six years old who walked a distance equivalent to walking from Denver to Chicago. It took 3 months and over half were killed or captured.

In 2003, people in the Darfur wanted fundamental human rights In 2003, people in the Darfur wanted fundamental human rights. The government in Khartoum feared this, and hired the Janjaweed to exterminate the black African groups in the Darfur.

The Janjaweed enter villages to rape, burn, and slaughter.

According to BBC news, the death toll is estimated at 300,000 with close to 2 million displaced in refugee camps in Chad, where disease and famine run rampant. The Sudanese government disagrees as they estimate 10,000 deaths.

Today, reporters and humanitarian aid have been blocked by the Sudanese government so that very few images of what is happening can be captured.

While there are no public auctions, modern slavery exists in Sudan While there are no public auctions, modern slavery exists in Sudan. Several thousand have been enslaved in Sudan in the past ten years. Often, the northern forces seize the southern Animists. They are used as forced labor, sexually exploited and in some cases sold to other “masters”. The government denies slavery exists. However, it is reported the government tends to look the other way as they use slavery as a way to rid themselves of their enemies.

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.” -Plato