Darfur genocide (2003)
Rebels in Darfur rose against the government in Khartoum. The state responded by arming Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, who burned villages, raped, and killed civilians across Darfur. The International Criminal Court later issued genocide and crimes-against-humanity warrants over the campaign.
Tens of thousands killed and more than 2 million people displaced into camps.
The Janjaweed consolidated into the Rapid Support Forces, now a national power in their own right.
The RSF fighting the army today began as the army's own proxy militia in Darfur. Nyala is the RSF's de facto capital in the region where this history was written.
