In mid-2004 the Darfur crisis in Western Sudan forced itself on to the centre stage of world affairs. A formerly obscure 'tribal conflict' in the heart of Africa has escalated into what could be the first genocide of the twenty-first century. Its characteristics - Arabism, Islamism, African consciousness, famine as a weapon of war, mass rape, international obfuscation and a refusal to look evil squarely in the face - reflect many of the problems of the global South in general and Africa in particular. Journalistic explanations of the unfolding crisis have often been given to hurried generalisations and inaccuracies. This book explains the complexities behind the conflict and why it is so relevant to the future of the continent. It sets out the ethnopolitical make up of the Sudan and explains why the Darfur rebellion is regarded as a key threat to Arab power in the country, much more so than the secessionism of the Christian south. This, he argues, accounts for the government's deployment of 'exemplary violence' by the Janjaweed militias in order to cow other Black Muslims into subservience. Index, bib, notes, 212pp, UK. HURST & COMPANY.

Contributors, including Alex de Waal, Suliman Baldo, Mukesh Kapila, Jim Terrie, examines African and international responses to the Dafur crisis to date and future options to protect vulnerable civilians in Darfur. There are no easy options, but there are two overarching priorities for international action: ensuring the deployment of an effective international force, and action to revive political negotiations. 46pp, UK. IPPR.

Tracing the story to the origins of the Fur state in the seventeenth century, through imperial expansion, revolution, and finally Darfur's annexation by the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, this study shows how years of neglect left the region unprepared for independence. The final chapters focus on the years thereafter, as successive governments failed to rise to the challenges of institution building and economic and political administration, and the region descended into chaos. This is a complex and often harrowing story, told with compassion, insight, and a strong sense of place. Index, bib, notes, 368pp, UK. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Harrowing photojournalism that covers three periods in the Sudan crisis, including images shot in 1988, when an estimated 250,000 Sudanese died of starvation; images from 1992 and 1995 that capture the atrocities of a civil war, when hundreds of thousands fled their homes to other destinations in Sudan or left the country altogether; and images from 2005 until the present, illuminating the Sudanese government's sponsorship of systematic violence on the people of Darfur. This book includes website links and additional resources for readers to utilize in seeking an urgent, immediate, and international call to action and to raise awareness of this suffering. 136pp, USA. POWERHOUSE BOOKS

New in paperback. Former US Marine Brian Steidle arrived in Southern Sudan in January 2004 looking for adventure and ready to provide military support for the ceasefire ending Africa's longest-lasting civil war. Hired as one of only three Americans on the ground in areas of Darfur inaccessible to journalists or even humanitarian aid workers, he spent six months there, witnessing first-hand the on-going genocide, and documenting every day of his experience using email, audio journals, notebook after notebook and nearly 1000 photographs. 242pp, UK. PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

Journal of a Jesuit priest who spent nine months in 2004 and 2005 working in three of the overcrowded, desolate desert camps along the Chadian border. Patrick Samway's diaries, deeply informed by his perspective as a religious scholar, are an unflinching eyewitness account of one of the greatest tragedies of our time. Charged with the considerable task of setting up schools for refugee children, Samway recounts his experiences with scarce food and water, non-existent educational resources, and the remarkable people he encounters along the way. Col photos, 293pp, USA. SCRANTON UNIV PRESS.

Provides essential resources for understanding the conflict in Darfur, from the historical background to an analysis of the present situation. It also proposes several non-violent ways of solving the crisis, from the democratization of the Sudan to reconciliation negotiations between actors at all levels to dramatically expanding the operational capacity of the peacekeeping troops supplied by the African Union. 60pp, NETHERLANDS. AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS.

In response to the ongoing mass murder of Black Sudanese groups in the Darfur region of Sudan by Sudanese government troops and Arab militias, the US government sent the Darfur Atrocities Documentation Team to various points along the Chad/Sudan in order to interview refugees from Darfur. Based on their investigation, US Secretary of State Colin Powell formally announced that 'genocide has occurred in Darfur and may still be occurring.' This book is comprised of essays from contributors who were involved in designing the project and hiring and training investigators, interpreters, and support personnel; US government and nongovernmental organization (NGO) officials involved in the genesis of the project as well as the analysis of the data; and numerous scholars, not all of whom were directly involved with the project, who critique aspects of the documentation project as well as its significance. 272pp, UK. ROUTLEDGE.

Working with Medecins Sans Frontieres, Lisa Baker arrived in Sudan full of determination to use her skills as a nurse to do something to ease the plight of the hundreds of thousands of people caught up in the conflict raging through Darfur. The six months she spent on the mission were the toughest of her life, treating children with machete wounds, babies dying of chronic dehydration, girls giving birth at the age of 13 and old women too traumatised to carry on living. Her account is written without sentiment but with a powerful and moving determination to show the suffering of the people of Darfur and to bear witness to their remarkable courage in the face of the most appalling situation. Col photos, 348pp, UK. HODDER HEADLINE.

Cheadle first became aware of the conflict in Darfur conflict while filming HOTEL RWANDA. Shocked and energised by the scale of the emerging crisis, he set about raising awareness of the Darfur conflict with John Prendergast, a former advisor to Bill Clinton. The authors have travelled to the refugee camps on the Sudanase /Chad border to pay witness to the unfolding tragedy which has claimed the lives of 250,000 people and displaced a further 2 million. B/w photos, gloss, 351pp, USA. MAVERICK HOUSE.

Series of essays by leading Sudanese and international specialists on Darfur, combining original research and analysis. The book provides in-depth analysis of the origins and dimensions of the conflict, including detailed accounts of the evolution of ethnic and religious identi-ties, the breakdown of local administration, the emergence of Arab militia and resistance movements, and regional dimensions to the conflict. The study also focuses on the search for peace, with contributions by those most closely engaged in local and international efforts to resolve the conflict. This includes documentation and analysis of the warring parties' ideologies and agendas and how they have changed in the course of the conflict, and examination of the efforts made by Sudanese civil and political leaders, the African Union, and other international actors to bring the war to an end. Index, bib, notes, 430pp, USA. HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS.