Darfur: Back story
Fighting broke out in 2003 between Sudanese government forces and rebel groups that said the Darfur region had been neglected. Arab militias are accused of committing some of the violence, with support from the government.
Estimates are that more than 200,000 people have been killed and that 2 million others have been forced from their homes. In 2004, the U.S. declared that the attacks by the government-backed militias constituted genocide.
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Source: Times staff reports
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