When major conflict erupted in Darfur five years ago, there were just two major groups - since then the insurgents have splintered into a confusing array of competing factions.
The Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), currently reported to be fighting government troops near the capital Khartoum, was founded by Darfuri Muslims loyal to Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi, whose National Islamic Front (NIF) instigated President Omar al-Bashir's 1989 coup against Sadeq al-Mahdi.
 Jem fighters launched an attack on Khartoum on 10 May 2008 |
Jem is led by a lawyer, Khalil Ibrahim Muhammad, who wrote "The Black Book: Imbalance of Power and Wealth in the Sudan" about the disproportionate numbers of Arabs in powerful positions.
A faction led by Idris Azraq broke away in January 2007 when he fell out with Mr Khalil over the marginalisation of non-Kobe Zaghawa (Khalil's clan) within Jem.
Jem is reputed to have fragmented into several disparate groups, of which the most significant is the NMRD.
NMRD
The National Movement for Reform and Development broke away from Jem in 2004 and is led by former Jem Chief of Staff Jibril Abdel Karim Bari, known as Tek, (who once served as a colonel in the Chadian President Idriss Deby's republican guard), an ethnic Zaghawa from the Kabka clan (like his NMRD co-founders Hassan Abdullah Bargo and Mahamat Ismail Chaibo).
Tek is on the UN sanctions list for alleged war crimes.
The NMRD is said to have Chadian backing and may have incorporated the splinter group led by Mohamed Saleh (which left Jem in 2005 and reportedly merged with the NMRD last year).
Other Jem splinters
Very little, other than their names, is known about the composition, leadership and numbers of the lesser Jem breakaway groups: Jem Peace Wing, Field Revolutionary Command and Popular Forces Troops.
National Redemption Front
This was the name given to a now defunct umbrella grouping of Darfuri rebel groups (including Jem and the G19) who were opposed to the DPA , founded with Eritrean backing in mid-2006. It was meant to be led in rotation by group leaders including Ahmad Ibrahim Diraij, the leader of the Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance.
The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) was initially the name of a self-defence militia led by ethnic Furs which emerged from the unrest that followed a devastating famine in 1987 when the Arab alliance was established and armed by Khartoum to oppose the non-Arabic speaking farming communities like the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit peoples.
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At the time of the February 2003 insurrection, the Darfur Liberation Front emerged, renaming itself in March 2003 as the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM).
The SLM split along tribal lines in November 2005 after a power struggle between Minni Arkou Minnawi (an ethnic Zaghawa who controlled the military arm) and Abdel Wahid Mohamed Ahmed el-Nur (an ethnic Fur who controlled the political wing).
SLM-Minni faction
Mr Minni was the only rebel leader to sign the 2006 Darfur peace agreement (DPA) after which he accepted a government role as special adviser to the president, triggering fears of a sell-out to Khartoum.
His group has been losing strength as fighters formerly loyal to Minni deserted to join other anti-Khartoum groups (among them the Greater Sudan Liberation Movement, G19, Abdel Shafi Faction and SLM-Unity)
SLM-Abdel Wahid faction
Abdel Wahid el-Nur himself is now in exile in Paris but his group of fighters is no longer thought to be the largest. Some of his men are also thought to have joined with Ahmed Abdel-Shafi, in the splinter group known as SLM-Classic, or SLM-Shafi faction.
Mr Abdel Wahid refused to sign the 2006 DPA and said he would not attend the Libyan peace talks unless the United Nations-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force were deployed first to guarantee security on the ground in Darfur.
SLM-Unity faction
 The Sudan Liberation Army has split into many factions |
This faction, led by Abdallah Yehya, is predominantly made up of ethnic Zaghawa in North Darfur and is drawn from the Group of 19 (G19) commanders who served under Khamis Abdullah Abakr and cooperated with Abdel Wahid el-Nur until the 2006 peace talks when they split, fearing a sell-out.
SLM-Unity has been blamed for much of the recent violence, including the 29 September attack on an AU base near Haskanita, in which 10 AU soldiers were killed.
Suleiman Jamous is one of the key SLM-Unity figures; he is their humanitarian co-ordinator and is currently based in Chad.
Other SLM splinters
The situation on the ground is changing frequently but among the groups alleged to have split from the SLM are: two factions calling themselves Free Will; the Greater Sudan Liberation Movement/Army; and the National Movement for the Elimination of Marginalization.
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