Multiple leaders, including Musa Hilal and Hemedti
Dates of operation
1987–present[1][2]
Active regions
Sudan Chad Yemen Libya
Status
Active
Size
Unknown (less than 25,000 est.)
Opponents
NCP (The Islamic brotherhood party in Sudan)
Preceded by Islamic Legion/Arab Gathering
Succeeded by Sudanese Armed Forces[3] (de jure)
Rapid Support Forces[4] (de facto)
The Janjaweed (Arabic: جَنْجَويد, romanized: Janjawīd; also transliterated Janjawid[5]) are an Arab nomad militia group from the Sahel region[6] that operates in Sudan, particularly in Darfur, and eastern Chad.[7] They have also been speculated to be active in Yemen.[8] According to the United Nations definition, Janjaweed membership consists of Arab nomad tribes from the Sahel, the core of whom are from the Abbala Arabs, traditionally employed in camel herding, with significant recruitment from the Baggara.
Janjaweed nomads were initially at odds with Darfur's sedentary population due to competition over natural grazing grounds and farmland, a conflict exacerbated by dwindling rainfall and drought. The Janjaweed were a major player in the Darfur conflict between 2003 and 2020, in opposition to the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement rebels.[9][10] In 2013, the Rapid Support Forces grew out of the Janjaweed.[11]
^"On the run from Sudan's Arab militias - again". BBC News. 2 May 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
^"Sudan's Janjaweed Militia". PBS. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^Cite error: The named reference sudanesearmed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Etefa, Tsega (18 June 2019). ""Explainer: tracing the history of Sudan's Janjaweed militia"". theconversation.com. The Conversation Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
^"Sudan". CIA World Factbook. Archived from the original on 14 July 2021.
^"Janjaweed". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^"UN Warns Chad Violence Could Replicate Rwanda Genocide". Christian Today. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
^Kirkpatrick, David D. (28 December 2018). "On the Front Line of the Saudi War in Yemen: Child Soldiers From Darfur". New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023.
^Nabati, Mikael (August 2004). "The U.N. Responds to the Crisis in Darfur: Security Council Resolution 1556". American Society of International Law. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007.
^"Sudan signs peace deal with rebel groups from Darfur". Al Jazeera. 31 August 2020. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020.
^"Who are Sudan's RSF and their commander Hemeti?". Al Jazeera English. 6 June 2019. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
rebels. In 2013, the Rapid Support Forces grew out of the Janjaweed. The origin of the word Janjaweed is unclear. It may derive from the Arabic words jinn...
the Janjaweed. The latter were armed Baggara herders whom the government had used to suppress a Masalit uprising from 1986 to 1999. The Janjaweed became...
recruitment of Janjaweed militias, although he consistently denies that he is part of the military chain of command of the Janjaweed. He claims to be...
after sunrise, when Janjaweed launched an offensive from the west. Later offensives came from the north and south. The Janjaweed came in waves, according...
Sudanese government forces and the Janjaweed ("evil men on horseback") paramilitary groups. The actions of the Janjaweed have been described as genocidal...
maintains control over the towns of Kutum, Kabkabiya and Saraf Umra. "Janjaweed leader defects from NCP, establishes new political movement". Retrieved...
Government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government...
كوشيب) (also: Koship, Kosheib, Kouchib, Kosheb, Koshib), is a senior Janjaweed commander who supported the Sudanese government against Darfur rebel groups...
Janjaweed and Masalit civilians in the Kreinik refugee camp near El Geneina, West Darfur. These led to massacres over the following days by Janjaweed...
revenue from oil sold to China funds the Sudanese government and the Janjaweed militia. On the morning of December 11, 2007, Khalil Ibrahim claimed that...
warrants for al-Bashir. Arabic-speaking nomadic militias known as the Janjaweed stand accused of many atrocities. On 9 January 2005, the government signed...
fought against the Sudanese central government and the pro-government Janjaweed militia, during the War in Darfur that started in 2003. Reprisals and...
former Minister of State for the Interior, Ahmad Harun, and a Militia Janjaweed leader, Ali Kushayb, for crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Sudan...
romanized: H̱amīdtī), Hemetti, Hemeti, or Hemitte ("little Mohamed"), is a Janjaweed leader from the Rizeigat tribe in Darfur, who was the Deputy head of the...
for violating a Security Council resolution. During the Darfur crisis, Janjaweed militias, allowed by elements of the Sudanese government, committed violence...
On 8 November 2023, the Rapid Support Forces and Janjaweed massacred between 800 and 1,300 in Ardamata, West Darfur, Sudan, although estimates vary. The...
vehicles are ineffective. Horses have been used in the 21st century by the Janjaweed militias in the War in Darfur. Modern horses are often used to reenact...
of the Janjaweed militia, "I don't want one single village of Zurgas in Darfur. All the Zurga lands are yours." After an attack by the Janjaweed militia...
Déby. In addition, there have been various conflicts with Khartoum's Janjaweed rebels in eastern Chad, who killed civilians by use of helicopter gunships...
of the mission is a Sudanese general accused of creating the fearsome "Janjaweed," which was responsible for the worst atrocities during the Darfur genocide...
the next fifteen years, with the government co-opting and arming Arab Janjaweed militias against its enemies. The fighting reached a peak in 2003 with...
military defeat of the LTTE at the hands of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The Janjaweed militia consists of armed Arab Muslims fighting for the government in...
Global Information
Sudan
Chad 
Yemen 
Libya