The Forgotten Mountains, rebel-controlled Darfur, Sudan

The Darfur conflict has already claimed half a million lives and has displaced three million people. Horrifying accounts of human rights abuses in Darfur led to the indictment of Sudan’s President Bashir by the International Criminal Court with ten counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, and, yet, he remains in power. The government of Sudan continues to deny the international community, relief workers, the United Nations, and journalists from entering into the rebel-held territory, leaving the remaining civilian population with little hope. In the Marra Mountains of Darfur, Sudan, hundreds of thousands of women and children hide in caves to escape ground attacks and aerial bombardment by their own government’s forces. The bombing of civilians, the burning of villages, and the mass rape of women and girls is a daily occurrence. Food and water are scarce, and most people are surviving on tea and a few potatoes each day. Mothers often go without food in an attempt to keep their children from crying of hunger. The mountains are now one of the only remaining sanctuaries for the people of Darfur to hide. The international community has declared genocide, yet, even as the conflict continues, it seems that no one is watching.