Darfur update

Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Rebels in Sudan’s western Darfur region said they have taken control of two southern towns while the United Nations reported that the government resumed aerial bombardments in the north.

The Justice and Equality Movement, the most powerful rebel faction in Darfur, said today its fighters captured the towns of Sheiria and Khazan Djedid after clashes with government forces 25 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of Muhajiriya, which the rebels occupied this month.

Justice and Equality sounds nice.

Darfur update

(CNN) -- The U.S. Air Force has begun flying equipment into Darfur to support a United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in the war-ravaged Sudanese province, the military announced Wednesday.

Two giant C-17 Globemaster III aircraft made the trip from Kigali in Rwanda to Darfur, the statement said, each carrying about 30 tons of Rwandan equipment.

The United States is providing only transport, not personnel, for the peacekeeping mission.

The Air Force will transport more than 150 tons of equipment and supplies including nine oversized vehicles, water purification systems, water trailers, tents and spare parts, the Pentagon's new African command, Africom, said in the statement.

As long as it's for the best...

------------------------

As Sudan awaits the International Criminal Court's decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir, the government has resumed bombing attacks against rebel groups in the western region of Darfur.

Omar al-Bashir (file photo)

Last November, President Bashir announced a unilateral ceasefire in the government's fight against rebel groups in Darfur. But a week ago, rebels said the government had resumed bombing raids in the region.

Sudan's military confirmed Wednesday it had conducted air raids on rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement around the town of Muhajiriya in South Darfur. - VOA NEWS

Like I said time and time again...a ceasefire is a ceasefire.

2 Hijackers of Darfur Plane Surrender

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — An airline official says the two hijackers of a jetliner that took off from Sudan's Darfur region and was diverted to southern Libya have surrendered to authorities after a 22-hour standoff.

Sun Air Executive Director Murtada Hassan says officials at the airport in Kufra, Libya, informed him of the surrender. He says there were only two hijackers but others may have slipped out with passengers released earlier. The number of hijackers and their identities has been unclear.

Hijackers commandeered the Boeing 737 jetliner, which was carrying 95 passengers and crew, soon after it took off Tuesday from the southern Darfur town of Nyala.

Better surrender...

Darfur update

August 23, 2008 (WASHINGTON) – The Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rejected the ‘People of Sudan’ initiative made by President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir last month.

Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) (AFP)

The Sudanese head of state invited all political forces and the Darfuri figures, including the non-signatories rebels, to take part in it.

JEM said in a statement that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) continues military operations on the ground while talking about peace.

“Al-Bashir cannot be the defendant and the judge at the same time” JEM said.

The Darfur rebel group also condemned threats by the Sudanese president to expel peacekeepers if an arrest is issued for him and vowed to protect them from government retaliation. - Sudan Tribune

Ben Tan, young sir, what do you make of this?

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

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, on his first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court moved to indict him for war crimes, on Tuesday denied that his forces had committed genocide in Darfur.

Doesn't he look like a black Mr. D'Agnese?

Darfur update

Remember when I said things were getting better? Scratch that.

The commander of the joint U.N.-African Union force in Sudan's conflict-torn Darfur region says his troops are critically short of helicopters.

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

US President George W. Bush said yesterday he had used talks with Chinese leaders during the Olympic Games to press them to use their influence with Sudan to help end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

One problem: where's China gonna get her oil?

Bush arrives in Beijing

BEIJING — President Bush arrived here on Thursday eager to shift his focus to Olympic sports, only hours after China pointedly rebuffed his criticism of the country’s record on human rights.

Bush...surprisingly...has the right idea here.

8/6/08 News

Darfur update

CAIRO, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A senior Egyptian official on Tuesday reiterated his country's stance to support a political settlement to the crisis in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, the official MENA news agency reported.

Right on, Egypt. We're just waiting for it to happen.

Darfur update

NAIROBI, 4 August 2008 (IRIN) - The staff of the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), who were evacuated from two locations in the western Sudanese state of North Darfur, may return to the area if they are assured improved security on the ground, a spokeswoman said.

Darfur's the last place I'd want to visit.

Darfur update

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.S. spokesman said on Thursday that part of a resolution on Darfur raising worries about a possible indictment of Sudan's president for war crimes there sent the wrong signal to someone who oversaw genocide.

?

Darfur update

CAIRO, July 29 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Cairo-based Arab League (AL) on Tuesday welcomed the efforts of the Sudanese government exerted to solve the crisis in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported.

Huh?

Sudan is committed to enacting new laws soon "to guarantee thatcrimes of genocide, ethnic purging and war crimes be enumerated in the Sudanese civilian penal code so that their perpetrators could be punished by law," Hosni said.

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.

Darfur update

CAIRO, July 22 (Reuters) - Sudan has agreed to try anyone it suspects of crimes in Darfur in Sudanese courts and will allow the United Nations, African Union and Arab League to follow the proceedings, an Arab League official said on Tuesday.

Check.  Step two...

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!