In the Darfur region of Sudan, close to the border with Chad an estimated one million people have been made homeless by fighting between mainly African rebels and Arab militia.

The displaced people, mostly ethnic African Sudanese, blame the Arab militia, or Janjaweed, for a scorched earth policy involving systematic killing, rape and looting as well as the Sudanese army, who are fighting in the area after rebels started an insurrection. Surprised and alarmed by the early successes of the rebels in February 2003 - when the insurgents destroyed some planes on an airbase - the government, which...