But the war that began when rebels took up arms against the government charging neglect put civilians -- Arab and African -- on opposite sides of the conflict and that ignited tensions where they had not previously existed.
During the early days of the conflict when hundreds of thousands of people were driven from their homes by militias and government bombardment, they sought refuge around Darfur's main towns and the first makeshift, miserable camps began to form.
Tensions then ran so high that in one incident non-Arabs beat an Arab to death in Kalma camp in South Darfur.
But as emotions calmed down, the Arabs said, living got easier and people began to understand the camp residents were all victims, essentially one tribe as Yagoub said, refugees.
Hawa Adam, an Arab from the Hawara tribe, shouted at her husband who said there were never any problems in the camps.
"You didn't go to get water and have to listen to them calling me Janjaweed," she told him angrily.
"But now it's fine. People began to understand not all Arabs did this and that it is a political conflict."
The Arabs in Abu Shouk had the same stories of losing family members and rape as refugees from the non-Arab Fur and Zaghawa tribes.
"A force suddenly appeared one day and surrounded our area made up of armed men, mostly Arabs and some Africans, dressed in military fatigues," said one woman from the Arab Keeneen tribe.
"They used to take our money, gold and then even the mats from under our children's bottoms."
"They warned us to leave our homes because planes and men would come and kill us. Sure enough as they said -- the planes came and bombed and we ran for our lives."
Khaled Abdel Muti, an Arab in Abu Shouk from the Rizeigat, had a message for his tribal brothers who joined the militia, young men he said who were uneducated but were now seeing the error of their ways.
"Don't be exploited by the government to fight against your brothers," he said.
"The opposition in Darfur took up arms or the rights of all Darfuris including yours. You should join them, not fight them."
