Ben's last Darfur update

Dongola, Sudan - Ask Abbas Adam Ibrahim whether he is Arab or African, and he does not quite know how to respond. "Both," the Sudanese man says, after slight hesitation.

Mr. Adam comes from the Fur tribe, of Darfur – commonly understood to be an African tribe, under persecution by Sudan's Arab-dominated government.

Last month, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor indicted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, saying "evidence shows that al-Bashir masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa groups, on account of their ethnicity."

But for Sudanese Arabs and Africans coexisting peacefully outside Darfur, these racial distinctions are not so clear.

I never saw Darfur as simply racial conflict. For several reasons, the Sudanese government would rather wipe out a region than help it.

Darfur update

Things are getting...a little...better in Darfur.

KHARTOUM, Aug 12 (Reuters) - International peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region look set to receive substantial reinforcements after months of under-manning, the U.S. envoy to Sudan said on Tuesday.

Darfur update

EL GENEINA, Sudan (AFP) — Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir paraded as a man of peace on Thursday as he wrapped up a heavily protected tour of Darfur defying accusations that he masterminded genocide in the region.

Sure, Omar.  Sure.

Darfur update

Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, has begun a visit to the country's western Darfur region. As Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi, the trip comes as the Sudanese government is attempting to rally international support for rejecting an effort by the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor to bring charges against President al-Bashir.

As if raping and killing everyone in a region is a bad thing. Maybe a visit to Darfur will, for President al-Bashir, put some human faces on the catastrophe.

Talks on Zimbabwe crisis begin in South Africa

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's ruling party and the opposition MDC began negotiations on Tuesday in neighbouring South Africa on a power-sharing deal that could end the country's political crisis, diplomatic sources said.

Someone needs to pull Mugabe's head out of his ass.

Darfur update

TWO Bahrain human rights groups have backed efforts to prosecute Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir for allegedly masterminding genocide in Darfur.

Good for those two groups, but it'll take a nation bigger than Bahrain to bring down Bashir.

Darfur update

July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Rebel fighters in Darfur said they're planning a new attack on Sudan's capital because the government isn't committed to peace in the war-torn region.

Yeah, they aren't pacifists like us, so let's bomb them!

Darfur update

UNITED NATIONS: Seven peacekeepers from a joint U.N.-African Union force were killed and 22 wounded in an attack in Sudan's Darfur region by about 200 gunmen riding horses and in heavily-armed sport utility vehicles, the United Nations said Wednesday.

Horses?!?

Equatorial Guinea imprisons limey Brit

MALABO (Reuters) - A court in Equatorial Guinea on Monday sentenced British mercenary Simon Mann to 34 years and four months in prison for his confessed role in a failed 2004 coup plot in the oil-producing West African state.

Owned.

Mugabe spokesman disses West

A spokesman for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has rejected Western criticism of the country's disputed presidential run-off election.

At an African Union summit in Egypt, George Charamba said the West had no basis to speak about the situation - and can "go hang a thousand times".

Continuing the rhyming theme of my comments today, Charamba rhymes with Zaramba, the most evil generous teacher in the whole math department...

Darfur update

ZAM ZAM CAMP, Sudan (Reuters) - Markets stocked with fresh fruit and vegetables. Shiny new gas stations. Freshly built houses. Smooth paved roads. A pizzeria.

These are not images one would normally associate with Sudan's western Darfur region, where hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have died in five years of conflict. But they are all found in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur state.

A glimmer of hope? Let's hope that this violence can end soon enough. Perhaps, someday, all of Darfur will have what El Fasher has.

Tsvangirai: Africa should get involved with Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has called for greater African involvement in Zimbabwe's crises.

Mugabe deserves more than a slap on the wrist.

Darfur update

KHARTOUM (AFP) — Sudanese authorities have expelled the head of the Dutch branch of the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) from the war-stricken region of Darfur, a humanitarian source said on Wednesday.

You think the Burmese and Sudanese governments are just sitting back, laughing at the civilians who've they've hurt?

Darfur update

June 22, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir vowed not to hand over any suspects accused of war crimes in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“I swear to god, I swear to god, I swear to god we will not hand over any Sudanese to the International Court” Al-Bashir told a gathering of semi-governmental Popular Defense Forces (PDF) in Khartoum yesterday who were celebrating the defeat of the Darfur Justice and Equality Movement attack on the Sudanese capital last month.

“We will not hand over any Sudanese as long as we have water in our eyes. Adopt how many resolutions you want and impose as many sanctions because threats and sanctions do not scare us” he said.

Contrary to what the rest of the world will tell you, the Sudanese government doesn't believe that it's done anything wrong!

Opp. Leader Pulling Out in Zimbabwe

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said Sunday he is pulling out of this week's presidential runoff because mounting violence and intimidation have made it impossible to hold a credible election.

Tsvangirai announced his decision about Friday's election during a news conference in Zimbabwe's capital after thousands of ruling party militants blockaded the site of the opposition's main campaign rally in a now routine pattern of intimidation.

"We can't ask the people to cast their vote on June 27 when that vote will cost their lives. We will no longer participate in this violent sham of an election," he said. "Mugabe has declared war, and we will not be part of that war." - Earthlink

It sucks when African countries are run like penal settlements.

Darfur update

ZAM ZAM DISPLACEMENT CAMP, Sudan (CNN) -- Sudan's Darfur crisis has exploded on many fronts -- violence, hunger, displacement and looting -- but United Nations peacekeepers say the biggest issue now affecting the region is the systematic rape of women and children.

You don't hear too much about the rapes, but it's just one of the many sad things happening in that place.

Darfur update

May 24, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese government denied press reports that it has gave the green light to non-African units as part of the United Nations-African Union hybrid force (UNAMID) in Darfur.
The daily Al-Ahdath has quoted unidentified government officials as saying that Khartoum may take a decision to approve Thai and Nepalese forces in Darfur by year end.

I mean, God forbid any non-Africans join the understaffed and under-equipped force.

Darfur update

KHARTOUM (AFP) — The Sudanese authorities said on Thursday they had captured a top member of the Darfur rebel group that staged a daring attack on Khartoum this month in which more than 220 people were killed.

See, it's not just one side killing the other.

Darfur update

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — The recent rebel assault near Sudan's capital was not a permanent setback for Darfur peace talks nor relations between Sudan and neighboring Chad, the head of the African Union said.

Never lose hope.

Darfur update

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir ruled out on Wednesday the possibility of
holding peace talks with the head of the Darfur rebel group that staged a daring
assault close to the capital that killed more than 200 people last weekend.

Why can't we all just get along?

The UN and African Union have tried for months to open new peace talks between
Sudan and Darfur rebel groups after a previous peace agreement failed to stem
the violence. But most rebel chiefs, including Justice and Equality Movement
(JEM) leader Khalil Ibrahim, have boycotted the initiative and security has
further deteriorated. JEM stunned the Sudanese government with Saturday's
attack on the city of Omdurman, located next to the capital Khartoum. Ibrahim is
still believed to be hiding there, and told AP by telephone Monday that his
fighters would keep up their offensive. They accused the Khartoum regime of
stonewalling the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force that would try to
establish security before peace talks. At a rally orchestrated by the government
Wednesday in Khartoum, al-Bashir called Ibrahim "an agent...Who sold himself to
the devil and to Zionism.” "We are for peace and a peaceful solution, but there
is no room for Khalil or agents like Khalil, who sold his cause, his people, his
tribe and his region," Al-Bashir told thousands of supporters waving flags and
chanting pro-government slogans. He also accused Ibrahim of receiving
money from Israel to topple Sudan's government.