SUMMARY

The Choa Arabs (also referred to as Baggara- and/or Shuwa-Arabs) are a nomadic Bedouin people who are present in northern Cameroon, as well as in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Sudan. The Choa Arabs are spread over vast areas and interact with numerous different groups and ethnicities throughout western and central Africa. The fact that Choa are often referred to as Baggara Arabs stems from their way of living, Baggara being Arabic for cow, hence cow-Arabs, in relation to their herding lifestyle. The overarching group of Baggara Arabs can be divided into different sub groups, Choa being one of them. Common for the Choa and their fellow herdsmen of the Baggara group is the fact that they are Muslim. Approximating the size of the Choa Arab population is difficult since there is limited information on the Choa sub group. There are however numbers putting the total populace of the Baggara Arab people at 600 000. These numbers should however be interpreted with caution since the word Baggara only refers to the handling of cow’s, hence it is quite difficult to distinguish who belongs to the group Baggara Arabs, and even more difficult to distinguish the Choa Arabs from the Baggara Arabs.

The Choa Arabs have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.