Backgrounder on Darfur peace process

• In February 2003, the JEM and other rebel groups took up arms against the Sudanese government, touching off conflicts that have left around 300,000 people dead and 2.7 million others displaced.
• In April 2004, Khartoum and the rebel groups including the JEM, led by Khalil Ibrahim, reached a ceasefire deal, which was later proved to be short-lived.
• In August 2007, the United Nations approved the dispatch of the African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID), in a mission to the volatile region to stamp out unabated violence and protect civilians.
• In October 2007, peace talks was held at the north African country of Libya , but the key rebel groups shunned the meeting.
• In May 2008, rebels from the JEM launched a large-scale attack on the capital city of Khartoum.
• In February 2009, under the mediation of Qatar, the Sudanese government and the JEM engaged in peace talks in Doha and agreed on measures to build mutual trust, breaking up the impasse in the peace process. But the rebel group scrapped the agreement one month later.
• In November 2009, around 170 civil groups from Darfur held a consultative forum in Doha to hammer out their contributions and efforts to halt the armed conflicts in the Sudanese region.
• In January 2010, representatives from the Sudanese government and rebel groups gathered in Doha and held separate consultations with the mediators, instead of entering face-to-face talks.
• In February 2010, Khartoum and the JEM reached a temporary ceasefire framework in Chad that guides further peace negotiations aimed at ending the conflicts.
• A permanent ceasefire deal was expected to finalize by mid- March, ahead of the country’s April presidential elections.

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