Darfur roundup
The New York Times reported yesterday that the Sudanese government is revisiting the tactics they used in the early stages of the conflict.
Such brutal, three-pronged attacks of this scale — involving close coordination of air power, army troops and Arab militias in areas where rebel troops have been — have rarely been seen in the past few years, when the violence became more episodic and fractured. But they resemble the kinds of campaigns that first captured the world’s attention and prompted the Bush administration to call the violence in Darfur genocide.
Aid workers, diplomats and analysts say the return of such attacks is an ominous sign that the fighting in Darfur, which has grown more complex and confusing as it has stretched on for five years, is entering a new and deadly phase — one in which the government is planning a scorched-earth campaign against the rebel groups fighting here as efforts to find a negotiated peace founder.
More below...
AFP reported that 20,000 civilians are "trapped" in the path of the recent fighting. The rebels, for their part, are blocking humanitarian groups from delivering food aid.
Ameerah Haq, the most senior UN humanitarian official based in Sudan, voiced concern about the civilians' fate because of the build-up of government troops in the mountainous area.
"We've had reports of many convoys and other movements of troops to that area... We're worried and concerned about what will happen in Jebel Moon because of the movement of troops there," she said.
"Innocent populations are getting it from all sides, from JEM and the government," she added.
"A lot of NGOs and humanitarian compounds were raided and a number of the NGOs also had their staff members killed," she said.
She also described attacks on a village called Sirba, where many houses were "burnt and razed to the ground" and thousands of people fled into the countryside.
It keeps happening because there's nobody to protect them. The peacekeeping mission has just been pathetic, even by U.N. standards. It's only up to 9,000 soldiers out of the intended strength of 26,000. The Sudanese government's obstruction tactics have bought them plenty of time, and as the previous reports show, they're making the most of it. There's no end in sight, either, as it appears their diplomats have moved on to a new excuse for delays (emphasis added).
Scandinavian units were refused entry by Khartoum and a Thai battalion is ready but still waiting for permission to deploy.
"What we ask now is that any talk of non-African troops stops until after the African troops have all been deployed," presidential assistant Nafie told reporters in Khartoum.
"Any attempt to talk about Khartoum's obstruction to the hybrid force or any talk about a lack of ability of African troops to accomplish the task of UNAMID is an attempt to create another crisis between Sudan and the international community."
He declined to say why Khartoum did not want non-African troops, but Sudanese officials have said Africa should be able to resolve its own problems and expressed suspicions about the intentions of former African colonialists.
It's just ridiculous. You can't negotiate with these people, yet the UN keeps trying. The institution is a joke, I don't know why we even pay any attention to it anymore.
As for what happens next, your guess is as good as mine. All I know is there's a lot more death and suffering on the way. In time, I think Darfur will be remembered as a bloody parallel to Iraq, a glaring symbol of misplaced priorities and Western apathy and ignorance. What a shame.
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