UN Blames Darfur on Food, Water Shortage

"Almost invariably, we discuss Darfur in a convenient military and political shorthand -- an ethnic conflict pitting Arab militias against black rebels and farmers," Ban wrote in an editorial in The Washington Post on Saturday, June 16.

"Look to its roots, though, and you discover a more complex dynamic. Amid the diverse social and political causes, the Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change."

Ban insisted that Arab nomadic herders and settled African farmers "lived amicably" for decades until rains in southern Sudan began to fail in recent years.

"It is no accident that the violence in Darfur erupted during the drought," maintained the UN chief.

"…once the rains stopped, farmers fenced their land for fear it would be ruined by the passing herds. For the first time in memory, there was no longer enough food and water for all. Fighting broke out. By 2003, it evolved into the full-fledged tragedy we witness today."

The four-year conflict in Darfur, a region the size of France, has killed at least 200,000 people and forced more than two million from their homes, according to the UN.

The Khartoum government has insisted that the Darfur conflict had its roots in competition between Arab nomads and non-Arab farmers over land and water resources in a changing ecosystem.

But the US-led West perceives the conflict as an ethnic cleansing by Arab Muslims against non-Arab, non-Muslim farmers.

Speedy Deployment

The UN chief stressed that any solution for the Darfur crisis must take into consideration the root cause of the conflict.

"Any peace in Darfur must be built on solutions that go to the root causes of the conflict," he wrote.

"Ultimately, however, any real solution to Darfur's troubles involves sustained economic development.

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