Counting the Dead in Darfur

by Michael Bear · 2009-06-26 17:05:00 UTC
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Sidestepping the entire "is it still genocide" debate - only slightly less enjoyable than the never-ending "was it ever genocide" discussion - it might be useful to take a look at some of the more recent numbers.

Alex de Waal on the Making Sense of Darfur blog offers a running tally of deaths due to violence in Darfur. The numbers so far this year are as follows:

January: 183
February: 102
March: 121
April: 22
May: 99

His analysis of the figures is fascinating.  According to de Waal:

"Arab militia attacks on civilians have not been a feature of the war in Darfur for the last fourteen months, and the fighting and burning in the northern parts of west Darfur, during the JEM offensives of February 2008, were in fact the only occasions in which the militia have been active against non-Arab civilians on a significant scale since 2006.

...

It is also striking that in meetings with representatives of almost all communities across Darfur, including the vast majority of IDP camps, over the last two months, very few representatives have raised recent incidents of lethal violence. For Darfurians, it is fair to say, the issue today is not killing."

It's also well-worth reading the response by Eric Reeves, who questions the accuracy of the mortality figures, and in particular the fact that they don't cover deaths due to the "consequences of violent displacement" - i.e. those who have died in the camps for lack of services, etc.

According to Reeves: "We simply don’t have adequate data with which to estimate mortality from violence, let alone all causes."

As the man once said: lies, damn lies and statistics.

Finally, as always, please see my genocide co-blogger Michele for daily updates on the situation in Darfur.

[Photo by Lynsey Addario at www.eyesondarfur.org]

Michael Bear
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