damanga believes 300,000 deaths is an understatement

April 25, 2008

        The Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy supports the United Nations and their assessment that 300,000 people have been killed as a result of conflict in Darfur. Still, Damanga strongly believes that this is a very humble estimate because it only acknowledges the deaths that have occurred since 2003, when the international community recognized the crisis. However, the conflict has been occurring since 1993. Throughout the past fifteen years, more then half a million people have been killed. As the first organization reporting the crisis in the early 1990’s, Damanga is concerned that the international community does not recognize the deaths that occurred prior to 2003.

Damanga condemns the Sudanese government for blatantly lying about the number of deaths that have taken place in Darfur. The Government of Sudan estimates that only 10,000 deaths have occurred, which is a gross understatement and is representative of the number of people killed by attacks in a single village, such as a village in Wadi-Salih, Kornoye, or Nory. Currently, the government of Sudan states that the United Nations does not have proper documentation to make such a claim. However, Damanga is certain that documentation exists and that the documentation in conjunction with testimonies from witnesses places the number of deaths above the 300,000 estimate. Additionally, Damanga encourages international intervention in Darfur to stop the genocide and save innocent lives.