In February 2003 Darfur rebels attacked a military post in El Fasher, complaining of neglect and marginalisation by the Khartoum government. The response was swift and brutal, mainly targeting civilians whose ethnicity meant they were deemed supportive of the rebel groups. The government armed and financed bands of Arab nomads, who have traditionally clashed with African farmers over pasture and grazing in Darfur.
Together with military ground and air support, these Janjaweed fighters launched a scorched-earth policy, destroying villages, raping, pillaging and killing. Over time, various rebel groups have merged and splintered. About 300,000 people are estimated to have died, mostly through starvation and disease, while around 2.7 million have been displaced.
Dwindling resources also played a part in the crisis: in the mid-80s a severe drought and famine ravaged Sudan and the Horn of Africa region. Famine left more than a million people dead, killing off much of the livestock. Herders had to choose whether to maintain their way of life or take up farming – either route led to clashes with farmers. Both sides armed themselves to defend their interests, and fighting erupted.
As head of state, Omar al-Bashir has been accused of "masterminding and implementation of" a campaign to destroy the Fur, Marsalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups in Darfur.
In requesting the arrest warrant in July 2008, the ICC prosecutor alleged that Bashir bore individual criminal responsibility for events in Darfur after July 2002 on 10 counts: three of genocide, two of war crimes and five of crimes against humanity. On the count of genocide, Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Bashir's motives had been largely political, that his pretext had been a "counter-insurgency", and that his intent had been genocide: the goal was not simply to defeat a rebellion, but rather to destroy those ethnic groups whose members challenged his power.