Sudan offensive kills hundreds, burns 200 villages And now for something completely not different. The story so far ... (yeah, right!) Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Sudan: The Darfur conflict in the west of Sudan is separate from the better-known conflict in the south. Off the beaten track of the New American Century, it would appear that the oft-forgotten troubles of Sudan are screaming toward a new standard in crisis. Wire reports indicate that the last several days have seen an offensive by government army troops and Arab militias kill dozens or hundreds, and according to Bahr Ibrahim, spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement, burned "more than 200 villages." The World Socialist Website reports that 15 to 25 villages daily are being attacked, including daily bombing raids. The militias are apparently paid with what they steal, and the whispers of ethnic cleansing have begun. Additionally-- --the WSWS article discusses some international implications as well. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the SLA has apparently opened a new front in the southwestern part of Darfur. All of this spells a nasty refugee situation. A weekend AP report says that UN/HCR has called a conference on March 8 to meet with African ministers and aid agencies to begin the planning of the return of some two-million refugees displaced by conflicts across the continent. Obviously, some Sudanese refugees will not be making the trip. The situation for the Sudanese people is still grim. With landmines and gunmen making delivery too perilous, aid agencies estimate that as many as 3,000,000 people have been cut off from basic needs for several months. Voice of America brings a spot of good news, however, as Cathy Majtenyi, in Nairobi, reports that outside pressure has caused the warring sides in Darfur to agree to give better access by aid agencies to affected Sudanese people. Ben Parker, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, said the World Food Programme has been able to provide rations for around 100,000 refugees at a camp called Kutum, in Northern Darfur. Commentary: Many have pointed to the Sudanese government in past debates, held it up as an example of evil government. Since the government and militia offensive started last week, the story seems to be developing quickly on several fronts. Again, we might here insert some questions for the Bush administration and its rhetoric toward the miseries of folks in the Middle East. Darfur "straddles the divide between Arab and Black Africa." (WSWS) It's hard to figure where Sudan falls in the New American Century, but current US policy lists Sudan as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, and there are some sanctions in place against the Sudanese petroleum industry which has an estimated 800 million recoverable barrels in reserve and 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. I'm hardly one for knocking off regimes left and right, but with terror connections, and without WMD in Iraq, I wonder what the real difference between the two is aside from Sudan being in Africa. One of the reasons I refuse warfare is because so much of the world is in conflict and it seems to gain humankind nothing. But at least get this one up on CNN .... I mean, airstrikes, and everything! Notes: • BBC News Online. "Sudan's Darfur too risky for aid." February 16, 2004. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3492345.stm • Minni Arkou Minnawi. "Press Release: The Sudan Liberation Movement and Sudan Liberation Army - Political Declaration." March 14, 2003. See http://www.sudan.net/news/press/postedr/214.shtml • Mathaba.Net. "Sudan Dictatorship Kills Hundreds of Civilians in Darfur State." February 15, 2004. See http://mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=37477 • Smith, Brian. "Sudan: Khartoum escalates civil war violence." World Socialist Web Site. February 16, 2004. See http://wsws.org/articles/2004/feb2004/suda-f16.shtml • Reuters AlertNet. "West Sudan rebels say they opened new Darfur front." February 16, 2004. See http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1641524.htm • Associated Press. "2M African refugees may be able to go home." Tuscon Citizen, February 14, 2004. See http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=national&story_id=021404a4_refugees • Majtenyi, Cathy. "UN says Outside Pressure Has Opened Way for Western Sudan Aid." Voice of America, February 16, 2004. See http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=C395C437-92C6-49C0-9E6A243DCF7CAE80 • United Nations World Food Programme homepage: http://www.wfp.org/ • United States Department of State. "Fact Sheet - Sudan: United States Policy." April 25, 2003. See http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/fs/19936.htm • MBendi.com. "Sudan: Oil and Gas Industry." See http://www.mbendi.co.za/indy/oilg/af/su/p0005.htm
There is NO oil in Suden, Sudan does not constitute a danger on Israel's security, so FORGET IT !! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Well ... isn't that sort of the challenge? • DRC • Liberia • Sierra Leone • Solomon Islands Four international actions on behalf of people met with varying degrees of … not failing … over the last couple of years. Nothing about Israel, nothing about oil. There are some folks out there trying. Who knows? We'll see what happens if someone gets footage. Not to point the finger right back at you, but I'm wondering if Al Jazeera has managed to get any footage from the Sudanese campaign to show the world? I don't see much in Google, though Al Jazeera is covering events. But if we might agree for the sake of argument that CNN, MSNBC, FOX, or others around the US aren't going to cover the story, well, as an abstract question who will?
Oh, yeah ... that other conflict in Sudan The BBC reports that peace talks aimed at a permanent end to the conflict in the south of Sudan have resumed after adjourning for the Hajj. Sudanese Vice President Taha met with John Garang, leader of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army at Naivasha, Kenya, and while the Kenyan chief mediator has stated an agreement can be reached within a month, much work remains. Hassan al-Turabi, a senior opposition politician, told the BBC that the talks are unlikely to make progress, that the last session adjourned in "bad spirit." Mr. Turabi also noted that events in Darfur, in the west, would affect the talks regarding the situation in the south. Apparently, the "oil-rich Abyei" region is the most contentious point of the talks. The war in the south is 20 years old; it has displaced "hundreds of thousands," and killed an estimated two million people.° I was ten years old when this war broke out. To judge by how much I've heard of it in my life, you wouldn't know it was going on. Notes: ° displaced "hundreds of thousands," killed two-million - These numbers are from the BBC article. The CIA World Factbook puts the figure at over two million dead and four million displaced, as of December 18, 2003. • BBC. "'Bad spirit' at Sudan peace talks." February 17, 2004. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3494985.stm • Phombeah, Gray. "John Garang." BBC News Online. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2134220.stm • CIA. "Sudan." CIA World Factbook 2003. See http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/su.html
There is NO oil in Suden, Are you so sure? Last time I checked Sudan was a oil hot spot. The Chinese have invested quite a bit of money in Sudan to exploit her oil fields. This time oddly it is not the US who has interests in Sudan it is China, and as long as the oil is actually pumping they don't care. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
P_M, read more http://www.refugeelawcenter.org/rlc/sudanesechristians.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1529182.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3211002.stm http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/2004/01/08/news/world/7659923.htm OIL: http://www.moles.org/ProjectUnderground/drillbits/4_14/3.html http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0007&article=000742e http://www.corpwatch.org/news/PND.jsp?articleid=317 http://www.ncca.org.au/christian_world_service/at_work_with_our_partners/africa/sudan
Hi Tiassa! A good friend of mine is a Sudanese refugee. That country is not in good shape to say the least. I was surprised that Bush went after Iraq and not even mention Sudan to my knowledge (apart from the pharmacy bombing). If you were a terrorist if not Afghanistan, Sudan would be the place to go if you wanted a safe place to stay. However, because a country is in trouble does not neccessarily automatically make it the US's problem. Tiassa, I don't understand how you realistically think these problems can be dealt with in a totally pacifist manner? Australian, NZ and pacific forces are in Solomon's as we speak. I don't see how when dealing with people with guns, you can be totally pacifist towards them to fix the problem since there is a bit of a force/power differential (whats to stop them attacking pacifist villages; they don't care). Sanctions may only work so much. Also, the nature of conflict is changing. It is less State actor vs State actor with rational (eg Cold War) leadership (its all relative) and more State actor vs Non-state actor (eg Taliban, Al-quada) with irrational (not fully thinking through consequences) leadership (eg prepared to use biological/nuclear weapons if aquired).
