Darfur’s terrible export

Peter Oborne reports from the battlefield on the Chad–Sudan border where Janjaweed bandits, armed with AK-47s, grenades and helicopter gunships, are ethnically cleansing local African tribesmen

Adre, Chad

When we visited the scene of the battle we found that bodies had been shoved hastily into mass graves. An arm stuck out from under one bush, and the flesh had been eaten by wild animals. A human foot obtruded from another grave. Dried pools of blood stained the ground. The stench of human putrefaction was heavy in the air. Bits and pieces of clothing, spent bullets and the protective amulets used by African fighters lay scattered on the ground. One body still lay exposed. The dead man had evidently climbed a tree to escape his attackers, but been shot down from his hiding place.

The Janjaweed — a militia drawn from Arab tribes in both Darfur and Chad — had clashed with local African tribesmen. The Africans used neolithic weapons: bows and arrows, spears and swords. These were no use against the well-armed Arabs who possessed AK-47s, M-14 automatic rifles, grenades and even anti-tank weapons which had been supplied from Sudan. Survivors said the fight lasted on and off for two days and left 118 tribesmen dead. It’s not known how many casualties they managed to inflict on the Janjaweed — probably none.

When the battle was over, the Janjaweed turned their attention to the local villages, burning and looting. Today the survivors manage as best they can in camps. The villages they lived in are now empty, except for the Janjaweed presence which remains so menacing that it is dangerous for locals even to go back and bury their dead. When they did return on an earlier occasion, they were shot at.

Our guides had brought shovels and pickaxes. They dug a shallow hole in the ground then manoeuvred the body into it.