Conflict, Arms, and Militarization: The Dynamics of Darfur’s IDP Camps

Tensions in internally displaced person (IDP) and refugee camps in Darfur and on the Chadian border have given rise, in recent years, to claims that they are ‘militarized’. To date, little effort has been made to understand the dynamics in these camps, to mitigate the negative impacts of these dynamics, or to reduce the presence of arms and armed actors. The Government of Sudan, however, has used the tensions to justify armed intervention in camps—sometimes with serious consequences for the civilian population—in support of its agenda to return or relocate IDPs. In turn, Darfur’s armed and rebel movements are manipulating the tensions in the camps and are thereby attracting international attention in order to achieve political goals.

This report was originally published by the Small Arms Survey.