Mick Hartley

From the BBC:

A huge underground lake has been found in Sudan’s Darfur region, scientists say, which they believe could help end the conflict in the arid region.

Some 1,000 wells will be drilled in the region, with the agreement of Sudan’s government, the Boston University researchers say.

Analysts say competition for resources between Darfur’s Arab nomads and black African farmers is behind the conflict.

More than 200,000 Darfuris have died and 2m fled their homes since 2003.

“Much of the unrest in Darfur and the misery is due to water shortages,” said geologist Farouk El-Baz, director of the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing, according to the AP news agency.

“Access to fresh water is essential for refugee survival, will help the peace process, and provides the necessary resources for the much needed economic development in Darfur,” he said.

The team used radar data to find the ancient lake, which was 30,750 km2 – the size of Lake Erie in North America – the 10th largest lake in the world…

The discovery is “very significant”, Hafiz Muhamad from the lobby group Justice Africa told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme.

“The root cause of the conflict is resources – drought and desertification in North Darfur.”

He says this led the Arab nomads to move into South Darfur, where they came into conflict with black African farmers.

He also said that it has long been known there was water in the area but the government had not paid for it to be exploited.

Good news, of course, but it seems highly optimistic to assume that this will signal the end of the conflict, just as it’s simplistic to suggest that it was all really just about resources. These things develop a momentum of their own, however much the physical geography may have provided the context. Maybe the Arab janjaweed will now turn around and invite the Africans back – “Hey, there’s enough for everybody! Let’s forget the past and be friends!” – but on the other hand they may decide that, having succeeded in driving the Africans out, with government backing, they may as well keep this soon-to-be-fertile area for themselves. All the more reason to keep the international pressure up.

Lake Erie though – that’s a big lake.

Update: The lake’s probably dried up! From the BBC:

A vast underground lake that scientists hoped could help to end violence in Sudan’s Darfur region probably dried up thousands of years ago, an expert says.

Alain Gachet, who used satellite images and radar in his research, said the area received too little rain and had the wrong rock types for water storage.