Sudan: key dates in Darfur war

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Sudan's government and key rebel factions agreed on Monday to a peace deal in a crucial step towards ending the brutal civil war in Darfur that has raged since 2003.

According to the United Nations, the conflict has killed at least 300,000 people and displaced 2.5 million. The accord also covers the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

- 2003: rebels take up arms -

Rebels in the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) take up arms against Khartoum, accusing it of marginalising the vast western region of Darfur.

On February 26, 2003, rebels take the town of Gulu in northern Darfur.

The state-backed Janjaweed -- a group of mostly Arab raiding nomads -- respond, leading to allegations of atrocities including murder, rape, looting and burning villages.

- 2007: international force -

A hybrid African Union-United Nations force called UNAMID takes over from an African force that has been in the region since 2004.

In May 2008, more than 220 people are killed when JEM rebels thrust hundreds of kilometres (miles) from Darfur to Omdurman, just across the River Nile from the presidential palace in Khartoum.

- 2009: arrest warrants -

The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for then-president Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

It issues another warrant the next year for genocide.

Late in 2010, after a lull in clashes that lasts several months, fighting resumes following the breakdown of an accord signed in 2006 with a faction of the SLM.

More than 2,300 people were killed in 2010, according to the UN.

- 2011: Revolutionary Front -

In November 2011, Darfur's armed groups form an alliance -- the Sudanese Revolutionary Front -- committed to regime change in Sudan.

Sudan accuses newly independent South Sudan of working with the JEM, a charge denied by Juba, which Khartoum also accuses of backing armed revolts in its South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions.

- 2014: abuses -

In March, the UN criticises restrictions imposed on humanitarian workers in Darfur and an increase in the number of displaced people.

The UN Security Council urges UNAMID to better protect the Darfur population.

In November, Bashir calls for a planned withdrawal of the force, after the peacekeepers probe accusations of gang rape by Sudanese soldiers.

- 2016: ceasefire -

In a controversial April referendum, the division of Darfur into five states is maintained.

The government in June declares a unilateral ceasefire.

In August, negotiations break down between Khartoum and rebels on a cessation of hostilities in Darfur, the Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

In early September, Bashir says that peace has returned to Darfur.

That month, rights group Amnesty International accuses Khartoum of carrying out several chemical attacks, killing civilians in the west of the country. Khartoum denies the charges.

- 2019: Bashir ousted, talks -

On April 11, Bashir is ousted by the military and detained after four months of popular protests demanding he quit.

In August, new Sudanese authorities entrusted with preparing the way for a civilian regime vow to restore peace to conflict-ridden regions, including Darfur.

- 2019: draft accord -

On December 22, Sudanese prosecutors open a probe into crimes allegedly committed in Darfur from 2003, targeting officials from Bashir's regime.

On January 24, 2020, a coalition of rebel groups signs a preliminary agreement with the government after weeks of talks.

On February 11, a top Sudanese official says Bashir will be handed to the ICC.

- 2020: Kushayb hands himself in -

In June, Janjaweed militiaman Ali Kushayb, wanted since 2007, turns himself in to the ICC where he is wanted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

On June 15, a Sudanese prosecutor says that Bashir's extradition to the ICC is not necessary.

In July, UNAMID condemns what it says are deadly violent incidents in North Darfur.

- Peace accord -

On July 16, the government and rebels enter the final stage of peace talks, focused on the creation of a single army.

On July 28, UNAMID calls on Khartoum to deploy security forces in Darfur as soon as possible, after a series of killings.

On August 28-29, government and rebels initial the accord aimed at ending 17 years of civil war.

The accord is officially inked during a ceremony on August 31 in Juba.