Tajammu al-Arabi
Sudanese Arab tribal militia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tajammu al-Arabi (Arabic: تجمع العربي, romanized: Tajammuʿ al-ʻArabī), translated into English as Arab Gathering or Arab Alliance, was a Sudanese Arab tribal militia and political organization that operated in western Sudan and eastern Chad in the late 1980s under Libyan sponsorship. The organization was organized by tribal leaders and Islamic Legion militants in the context of the ethno-tribal conflicts that were taking place in Darfur between the Baggara Arabs and the Furs in those years. Although the organization claimed that its aim was solely to represent and defend the interests of Arab tribes,[1] the organization was described by Gérard Prunier as "a militantly racist and pan-Arabist organization which stressed the 'Arab' character of the province."[2] Scholars agree that Tajammu al-Arabi played an important role in the creation of the Janjaweed, which still operate in the region to this day.[3]
Tajammu al-Arabi | |
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تجمع العربي | |
Dates of operation | 1987 – 8 July 1989 |
Merged into | Janjaweed |
Active regions | Sudan (mainly Darfur) Chad |
Ideology | Baggara's tribal interests Anti-black racism Tribalism Arab nationalism Islamism |
Allies | Libya CDR |
Opponents | Federal Army of Darfur Fur tribal militias Sudanese government Chad |
Battles and wars | War of the Tribes |