The Role of Sudan Media in Conflict Resolution: Acase Study of the Sudan Mirror Newspaper and the Darfur Crisis

Abstract

Sudan has been in a state of conflict for many years. With the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, the mainly Muslim north and the Christian south emerged from a 21-year civil war which is said to have cost the lives of 1.5 million people.1 However, the CPA did not cover the Darfur conflict which had broken out earlier. Darfur, a region the size of France in the western part of Sudan, is the latest conflict zone in the country. The crisis broke out in February 2003 when Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels took up arms against the government, attacking villages, town and Government positions, looting and killing civilians.2The rebels cited years of political, economic and social marginalization and neglect of the region as their reason for taking up arms. Khartoum mobilized mostly Arab militias to crush the revolt. Competition over resources (land, water and oil) and tribal differences continue to complicate the crisis. It will be noted that these same issues have been at the heart of other conflicts in Sudan in the past.