Brief Report:
What has been happening in Darfur reaches a climate of human rights violation. More than million of black Africans have been driven from their villages by the armed light-skinned Arabs. The United States Congress has earlier on declared that the situation amounts to genocide. United Nation Security Council has adopted a resolution in early August giving Sudanese government 30 days to reinstate security in Darfur and help the victims or face sanctions. To date, the situation has not improved. "Janjaweed militiamen, accompanied by three carloads of soldiers, recently killed 111 people in one day in three villages near Bareh in western Sudan," reports LA Times (Sept. 5, 04).
Despite the stern warnings and intervention from the international community, the situation remains catastrophic. The genuine action of Sudanese government to curtail the attacks, to disarm and neutralize the Janjaweed militia remains invisible. Peace continues to be undermined by the officials.
The displaced black Sudanese are in a dreadful state fighting for survival. They, who continually to be the subject of attacks and sexual abuse by the Janjaweed, are also at risk of starvation and infectious diseases. The number of at risk civilians is increasing (current estimation is 2.2million or more). Many are not receiving the much-needed emergency aid because of bottlenecks created by the government in particular and the rebels to an extent.
Reports have implicated Sudanese government supporting the Janjaweed militias to clear the civilians from areas considered "disloyal" when war broke out in early 2003 between the military officials and the two rebels (‘Sudan Liberation Army’ and ‘Justice & Equality Movement’). The rebels were seeking to end the economic and political marginalization and to protect their communities against the 20-year campaign by the government-aligned forces.
The situation is complicated. Both the Sudanese government and Darfur’s rebels have reportedly failed to reach a compromise after a recent two-week long peace talk mediated by African Union. The war, which stemmed from a "multiple intertwined-conflicts" as observed by the AU officials, will go beyond the Darfur’s borders and has the potential to inspire insurgency in other parts of the country.
Updates:
The conflict in Darfur has forced 1.4 million villagers from their homes. The UN health agency estimates at least 70,000 people have died in refugee camps in Sudan's Darfur region since March. (Star Online, Oct 17, 04).
On Nov 23, North Darfur declared state of emergency due to the increasing attacks and deaths in the region. According to the United Nations, more than 70,000 people killed or died from hunger and disease, in addition to 1.5 million displaced. The region is now facing a new threat, draught, that may soon lead to widespread hunger (New Straits Times, Nov 24, 04).
