Identity-based Conflict
The UN report highlights the systematic targeting of the Zaghawa and Fur ethnic communities by the RSF, marked by mass killings, sexual violence, and other atrocities endorsed by leadership. This exemplifies how deep-seated ethnic or group identity differences can be weaponized and escalate into genocidal acts, leading to widespread atrocities and displacement. The conflict's origins and execution are rooted in the distinction and elimination of specific identity groups.
The Shadow of Identity: When 'Us' Becomes a Weapon
The recent UN report detailing the horrors unfolding in Sudan’s el-Fasher, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have systematically targeted the Zaghawa and Fur ethnic communities, offers a chilling, all too familiar narrative. It speaks of "three days of absolute horror," mass killings, sexual violence, and atrocities so coordinated and publicly endorsed by leadership that they bear the "hallmarks of genocide." This isn't merely a conflict over resources or power, though those elements are often present; it is, at its core, an identity-based conflict, a brutal manifestation of humanity’s persistent fault line.
What exactly is an identity-based conflict? It’s when the very essence of who a person is – their ethnicity, religion, nationality, or any other fundamental group affiliation – becomes the primary reason for their persecution. It’s a chilling inversion of human connection, where shared humanity is eclipsed by an artificial, yet deeply felt, distinction. The "us versus them" tribalism, etched into our evolutionary past, finds fertile ground in times of scarcity, political instability, or the cynical machinations of those seeking power. Leaders, in a grotesque perversion of community building, often forge cohesion within their own group by defining and demonizing an external "other." This "other" then becomes not just an opponent, but an existential threat, a cancer to be excised, justifying almost any atrocity.
Sadly, this dark chapter in Sudan is not an isolated incident but a recurring nightmare throughout history. One need only look to the Rwandan genocide of 1994 to see a devastating parallel. There, the Hutu-led government and allied militias orchestrated the slaughter of an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in a mere 100 days. The groundwork for this atrocity was laid over decades, with colonial powers initially exacerbating ethnic distinctions, which were later weaponized by Hutu extremists. Propaganda dehumanized Tutsis, portraying them as "cockroaches" and invaders, creating an environment where neighbor turned against neighbor, all in the name of a manufactured identity struggle. The scale and speed of the killings were horrific, driven by an ideology that sought the complete elimination of a specific identity group.
The echoes between Rwanda and Sudan's el-Fasher are haunting. In both cases, a deliberate campaign of violence, including mass killings and sexual violence, was directed at specific ethnic communities with the apparent intent to destroy them or conditions conducive to their destruction. The UN's findings regarding the RSF's actions against the Zaghawa and Fur communities underscore how readily deep-seated ethnic differences can be manipulated and escalated into genocidal acts, leading to widespread atrocities and displacement. The public endorsement by senior leadership highlights a terrifying continuum of intent, where the very distinction of identity becomes a death sentence.
As we witness the unfolding tragedy in Sudan, and reflect on past genocides, one cannot help but ponder: Is this capacity for weaponized identity an indelible stain on the human condition, or is there a path, however arduous, to transcend these destructive divisions before they claim countless more lives?