According to  Sudanese Arabic, which is a distinguished indigenous in Sudan,  the word  Janjaweed is an acronym composed of three words;  jan, jawad and jim; which may be translated into  English to give the meaning of djinn, horse and the German machine gun known as G-3  or 4, respectively. So, the word Janjaweed means a Horse-Mounted G-3-Armed Djinn. 

The highly circulated term Janjaweed was not on high velocity just few years ago.  Violent acts that other nomadic groups such as the Maraheel were few years accused of perpetrating involved activities similar to that of the Janjaweed are allegedly engaging into today. Both groups were in essence tribal defense militias. The major function and the raison d’etre for this militia are to protect herds of nomadic tribes in western Sudan from attacks of looters, highway robbery and particularly, attacks of rival nomadic tribes at times of conflict on pastures and water.

After 1983, the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) started military operations against the government in areas of southern and western Sudan.  The Maraheel and other nomadic communities who were turned to be potential targets of such operations requested to be protected by the government security forces. At that time President Jaffar Numeri was in power (1969-1985). Since the security situation was not so grave, limited police protection was granted to some of these nomadic groups in western Sudan. Eventually, shot guns and defensive rifles were authorized through guarantees of tribal chiefs.  The area of Darfur is so wide and its terrain is so rough. Its area of 256 000 square kilometers is larger than the total area of UK.  By 1986, just one year after the collapse of Numeri’s regime, at the reign of the democratically elected government of Prime Minister, Mr. Sadiq Al Mahdi, these groups were officially recognized as defensive militias who have the legitimate right to protect their herds from attacks of SPLA/M rebel groups which were intensified at the time. The government that time believed its action was pragmatic since the military and other armed forces belonging to the state were increasingly engaged in the war in the south cannot provide the required manpower and other necessary means to protect the life and property of these nomadic communities. Therefore, it is naturally that they were to be provided with appropriate means to defend themselves within the framework of the rule of law. At the time the recognized name was the Maraheel.

By the advent of the government of the National Salvation Revolution (NSR) of President Omar Hassan El Bashir on 29 June 1989, the status of security in Sudan has become dismal in every part of the country, particularly, in areas directly affected by the civil war.  In response to the security challenge, especially the deterioration in the southern and south eastern Sudan, as well as in areas in western Sudan, the government increased the capacity of the national armed forces by opening the way wider for popular recruitment. At this time, the Popular Defense Forces (PDF), which has become part and parcel of the Sudan People's Armed Forces (SPAF), emerged as an official army of reservists under the guidance and command of the regular army. Many nomadic tribal members enthusiastically joined the PDF. Some of these irregulars and reservists sneaked out of PDF camps and found their way to high way robbery in their respective regions.  The government, especially in the State of North Darfur, through the federal system of law enforcement and judiciary dealt with these splinter groups since their attacks were sporadic and less intensive. Historically, these groups have been existent in Darfur’s extreme rural areas for many centuries conducting acts of high-way robbery. The situation here is reminiscent of the 18^th and 19^th century American robber barons in the Wild West.  The high way robbery is an ancient practice in nomadic societies which are not unique to Darfur. It is to be found in communities of similar circumstances in different parts of Africa.  Groups such as the Tora Bora and Besh Merga emerged as new fledglings conducting the old practice of high way robbery. Their likes are to be found in Chad, Central African Republic (CAR), Cameroon, Mali, Niger and Mauritania, where nomadic communities are still dynamic and existent. During the period of the Chadian civil war (1962-1991) these groups which freely cross the borderlines between the Sudan, Chad and CAR practiced smuggling of light weapons into Sudan. At that time they found modern weapons from the stock provided to rebels in these countries from different contributors such as Libya, Egypt, France and the USA.  Later, the civil war in Southern Sudan which lasted from 1983 to 2004 also fomented the phenomenon of proliferation of arms and increased the population of armed robbers. The atmosphere of unrest in Central African Republic further contributed in provision of more arms to the nomadic communities in the region.

However, the reason that aggravated the recent events in Darfur, particularly after February 2004, when the name Janjaweed found much publicity in the western media, was the intensity of the attacks, their widespread and the quality of weaponry used in the tribal warfare which involved both nomadic and sedentary communities. Unfortunately, the emergence of two new political armed opposition groups namely, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) moved the borders of conflict from Darfur geographical region to involve the federal army, the SPAF. Also, the political rhetoric pronounced by the armed political opposition provided pretext for criminal groups, exclusively identified with high way robbery, to ride the wave of violence. Law enforcement and security agencies in the States of Northern and Western Darfur recorded cases where the Besh Merga and the Tora Bora were coordinating attacks against nomadic tribes; pillaging, killing and looting their herds. The nomadic militia retaliated by pursuing these looters who usually find refuge into the sedentary communities’ villages. Meanwhile, lack of interest among villagers to cooperate by identifying the fugitives, frequently result in burning these villages in order to chase out villagers who harbor these criminals. Also, changes of allegiances between different groups at one part and criminal organizations on the other, often result in conflict of interest between different nomadic and criminal groups which victims in many cases become the sedentary communities. The involvement of the Janjaweed in the recent conflict has been a result of direct attacks against their respective communities either by the JEM, SLM or groups allied with them. Again, other nomadic tribes whose territories were attacked or were potential for further attacks found themselves part of the conflict such as the Gimir, Barti and Rizigat which respective tribal militias retaliated fiercely against JEM, SLM, Tora Bora and Besh Merga. Generally, the vacuum that resulted in the killing of more that 800 army, police officers and other security agents in the three federal states of Darfur resulted in evacuation of many police stations which, in turn, produced an atmosphere of total chaos in the region. The weakening and disempowerment of the security apparatus in Darfur invited attacks of retaliatory tribal militias and reprisals from others.

It is hoped that the presence of more than 40 000 Sudanese armed forces agents and 12 000 police officers with involvement of tribal chiefs and local community leaders in the peace effort in Darfur, will calm the region in the time being. The presence of the regional African Union (AU) monitors amounting to more than 300, directs much attention nationally and globally to the peaceful resolution of conflict in Darfur.

The long-term resolution to the conflict in Darfur, in particular, and in Sudan in general, rests on application of a sound formula of balanced development, effective federal system of administration, widely representative multi-party system, good governance and transparency.

Hassan E. El Talib is Deputy Head of Mission of the Sudan Embassy in Pretoria, SA.