In case you never heard:

The conflict in the Darfur region of the Sudan began in 2003, when government-backed militia groups called the Janjaweed stepped up raids and attacks against the region’s farming communities.

The Sudanese government allegedly began arming and recruiting the Janjaweed from local Arab tribes when African rebel groups in Darfur, organized in response to a widespread perception of the Sudanese government’s neglect of the region, began attacking government forces.

Since the conflict began, Darfur has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. As many as 300,000 people have died and over 1.8 million have been displaced.

The region:

Darfur is a region in Western Sudan, the vast majority of whom are black and Muslim. Darfur, roughly the size of France, is home to 8 million people, and dozens of different ethnic groups.

The most important divisions in terms of understanding the conflict in Darfur are between the sedentary farmers and the so-called “Arab” nomadic herders.

Muslims against Muslims:
Unlike in the Second Sudanese Civil War, which was fought between the primarily Muslim north and Christian and Animist south, in Darfur most of the residents are Muslim, as are the Janjaweed.