Blog Series
Conflicts
Announcements
Archive
- May, 2012 (31)
- April, 2012 (62)
- March, 2012 (64)
- February, 2012 (53)
- January, 2012 (53)
Blog Roll
- Africa in Transition
- Africa24 Media
- Across the Aisle
- Burning Billboard
- Change.org - Human Rights
- Chris Blattman's Blog
- Condition Critical
- Congo Siasa
- From the Front Line
- Genocide Intervention Network
- Huffington Post
- ICC Observers
- IJCentral
- Impunity Watch
- In Situ
- Institute for War & Peace Reporting
- Opinio Juris
- Meskel Square
- Mia Farrow
- National Security Network Democracy Arsenal
- Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
- Promise of Engagement
- Pulitzer Center - Untold Stories
- Resolve Uganda
- Save Darfur
- South Sudan Info
- STAND
- SudanReeves.org
- TakePart
- Think Progress
- UN Dispatch
- Voices from the Field
- Voices on Genocide Prevention
- War Crimes
- WITNESS
- Woodrow Wilson Center
- World is Witness
- Wronging Rights
Books by John Prendergast
Downplaying Darfur
Addressing the U.N. Security Council this week, the head of the joint U.N.-African Union (UNAMID) mission to Darfur, Rudolphe Adada, called the situation a “ low intensity conflict.” based on “purely numerical terms ” (i.e.: total violent deaths per month).
News agencies jumped on this statement, portraying Adada’s comments as an overall assessment of the “situation in Sudan's western Darfur region, which Washington has described as genocide,” as Reuters put it.
Adada's comments do not take into account crucial dynamics of the crisis in Darfur. It may be true that attacks by government-sponsored militia have decreased in the areas where UNAMID is deployed, and as a result, fewer violent deaths regularly occur. However, violent death account for only a fraction of the total mounting death count in Darfur today. Furthermore, given that, in Adada's own words, his forces in the beleaguered region are working "at about one third of projected full capacity," it is probable that UNAMID does not actually have a clear picture of the overall situation on the ground.
According to Enough’s, the story on the ground is different than that which Adada's is reporting, especially in areas not covered by UNAMID forces. Darfur is still plagued by government of Sudan soldiers and its Janjaweed militias that roam the countryside with utter impunity, the bandits that terrorize local communities, and the occupiers of the lands vacated by forced displacement.
Intense insecurity remains throughout Darfur. Adada should have chosen his words more carefully and considered the broader picture before making irresponsible comments that give the impression that the crisis is abating.
An estimated 1 million people are at risk of disease and starvation because the aid they depend on was cut off by the Sudanese government. The close quarters of the camps, where human waste is no longer being removed, will become breeding grounds for cholera and water-borne diseases as soon as the June rainy season arrives. The people of Sudan talk about record heat blanketing the region, which could lead to cases of meningitis and which make the water shortage in many of the camps even more dire. Moreover, the weather forecasters in Khartoum say there may be an early start to the rains this year, which means there could be even less time for the remaining NGO’s or the replacement ones – if they ever arrive – to prepare for the disasters expected with the coming rainy season.
Darfur today is the furthest thing from a “low intensity conflict,” and someone holding a position of influence like Adada’s would do well to think about the people he’s meant to protect when he’s given an audience with the U.N. Security Council.
Laura Heaton contributed to this post.
welcome to cell phone lookup, cell phones, reverse cell phone lookup, cell phone tracker, reverse cell phone directory, cell phone numbers,
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Day 25 - May 2nd 2009
- In a phone call from the ground - Darfur -today, this Blog learned that water situation is getting very critical in the IDP camps of Kassab (North Darfur) and Garsilla (North West Darfur).
- As of today, there are no indications on the ground, in the IDP camps, of any improvement of the humanitarian situation in Darfur since the expulsion of the 13 international humanitarian NGOs on 4th of March 2009. There are no genuine efforts seen in "closing the gaps" in humanitarian aid to the refugees in Darfur.
Comment:
With all said and done, the discouraging part of Obama's Administration approach to the Sudan crisis in general and Darfur problem in particular, is that time frames and time benchmarks are conspicuously absent.
This open ended policy is what the regime in Khartoum was working for all the time. They love to promise the U.S. officials with what the Administration wishes to hear, but no commitment when these promises would be fulfilled.
Without holding the regime accountable to time frames and deadlines, promises from the regime will be exactly that: promises.
The leading Darfur activists groups in U.S.A. have a duty and responsibility. They should hold the Administration accountable on not fulfilling the election promises given by then candidate Obama.
Issuing nice sounding studies on policy blueprints without spelling out time schedules will amount to nothing but another break to Khartoum regime.
Posted by Mohamed Suleiman at 4:24 AM
Friday, May 1, 2009
Day 24 - May 1st 2009
- In a retaliatory action, the Security Forces (GoS) in the region of Nertity (West Darfur) shot and killed 3 IDP refugees ( a woman and a child among the dead) and injured 7. Also the Security forces (mostly Janjaweed in uniform) burned many homes and destroyed stores of food. These retaliatory actions came in the heel of earlier clashes between the Security Forces (Janjaweed) and some rebels in the area. Some refugees said to Radio Dabanga that they were warned by the government agents not to talk to any media, the radios' correspondents in particular.
- In Zalengei area, leaders of IDP refugees' camps complained of terrorizing military jets' flights over the IDP camps in the area. Migs and Sokhoys military jet fighters flew in low altitudes over the camps causing terror among the refugees, especially the children and women. Also there was intense firing of shots in the air for some time.
Later the Government sources said that it ( GoS) was celebrating the graduation of new units of the Border Guards (the official name of the Janjaweed militias who are mostly Arab Nomads from the neighboring countries).
- In a deal signed with the Government of North Darfur, UNICEF will contribute more than 8 million Dollars to be spent on health, food, and water projects in North Darfur.
The North Darfur Governor (Kiber) is one of the most corrupt official in Darfur. Residents of Elf Fasher say that he has " demonstration contractors" who have paid people to show up in all the visits of Al-Bashir ( President of Sudan) to North Darfur after the ICC indictment on March 4th 2009. Janjaweed Militia now control the capital city of North Darfur ( El Fasher).
- 804 Darfuri students in a university in Khartoum were not allowed to take the final exams due to non-payment of dues and fees. Not taking the final exam is equivalent to expulsion from that educational institute.
Due to war and instability in Darfur, those students from Darfur who excel academically, find themselves in an economical disadvantageous position in comparison to other students in the rest of North Sudan. Last week hundreds of female college students who live collectively in rented homes (boarding houses) in Khartoum, were under threat of eviction due to delinquency in rent. This (eviction threat)is becoming a common occurrence to the Darfur students in Khartoum.
The DPA (Darfur Peace Agreement) signed in 2006 has clauses that call for waiver of fees and other expenses for the Darfur students in Khartoum and other cities due to the war situation in the Darfur region, but the GoS is using education (deprivation) as another tool against the people of Darfur.
Posted by Mohamed Suleiman at 4:30 AM .
http://www.whilewewaitsudan.blogspot.com/
Dear Omer Ismail
One of the reasons that complicated the issue of Darfur is the kidnaping of the case by the purposeful advocates and Western goverments to utilize it as a stick against the goverment of Sudan.Thier final goal out of this created mess is to topple the regime by mounting pressures exerted by the activists and international bodies exploiting the allegations of human rights violations and humanitarian situations.To achieve this goal,thoes concerned with the agenda of toppling the regime in Sudan do thier best to paint the realities of the situation in Darfur with the colours of horror,atrocities and killing by hunger. They have a real interest in troubled and destabilized Darfur,hence they refuse to admit the reality of any improvement there and continue to market thier own version of the history of the conflict rather than concentrating on the current ground facts.
Dear Omer and Laura,
Thank you so much for your remarks.
Nell Okie