As the disaster in Sudan unfolds, American Progress Action Fund provides weekly updates of critical news coverage so you can track developments. Bookmark this page and stay informed.
Week of Feb 21, 2005
Darfur atrocities go on – Oxfam, BBC News, Feb 27, 2005
Khartoum – A leading UK aid agency says the world is still not doing enough to protect more than two million displaced people in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
No February talks between Sudan, Darfur rebels-AU, Reuters, Feb 27, 2005
KHARTOUM – Talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel groups to end the conflict in the region will not resume at the end of February, an African Union spokesman said on Sunday.
Dispute Over ICC Hampers United Effort on Darfur, LA Times, Feb 26, 2005
WASHINGTON — A dispute between the Bush administration and European allies over whether to allow the International Criminal Court to try Sudanese war crimes suspects is complicating efforts to resolve the crisis in the Darfur region, diplomats and activists said Friday.
UN prepares to send 10,000 troops to monitor Sudan, AP, Feb 26, 2005
WASHINGTON – The United Nations is preparing to dispatch 10,000 peacekeepers to Sudan to monitor an accord to end the civil war there, the UN undersecretary general for peacekeeping operations said Friday.
INTERVIEW- WP’s Emily Wax on reporting from the killing ground, Columbia Journalism Review, Feb 25, 2005
Based in Nairobi, Kenya, Emily Wax covers the conflict in the Sudan for the Washington Post. Wax is originally from Queens, New York, and has reported for the Trenton Times, freelanced for Newsday, and covered schools and immigrant communities for the Washington Post.
Cost of UN peacekeeping mission in southern Sudan will top $1 billion in first year, UN News, Feb 24, 2005
More than $1 billion will be needed to fund the first year of the proposed United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Sudan, set up to help the vast region stabilize and its people rebuild their lives after a 21-year civil war.
SUDAN: WFP warns of potential food crisis, IRIN, Feb 24, 2005
NAIROBI – The World Food Programme (WFP) has expressed concern about signs of a potential food crisis in Sudan, saying that rapidly rising prices of staple foodstuffs indicated that stocks were dwindling.
U.N. Say Aid Workers in Darfur Detained, Harassed, Reuters, Feb 23, 2005
KHARTOUM – The United Nations said on Wednesday it had complained to the Sudanese government about the harassment and sometimes temporary detention of aid workers in areas of conflict-torn Darfur.
The Secret Genocide Archive, New York Times, Feb 23, 2005
Photos don’t normally appear on this page. But it’s time for all of us to look squarely at the victims of our indifference.
Week of Feb 14, 2005
Darfur rebels detain, then release two Britons, Reuters, Feb 20, 2005
KHARTOUM – Darfur rebels detained two Britons who run an aid organisation operating in the western region of Sudan and released them six hours later, U.N. sources in Khartoum said on Sunday.
Moscow Slams Plans to Impose Arms Embargo on Sudan, MosNews, Feb 18, 2005
Sudan’s authorities have pledged to settle the Darfur crisis, Konstantin Dolgov, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, told Ekho Moskvy radio station. The UN should encourage such initiatives, instead of imposing sanctions on the war-torn country.
Hollow on Darfur, Washington Post, Feb 18, 2005
THE BUSH administration has circulated a draft United Nations resolution on Sudan’s conflict, aimed principally at underpinning the recent peace agreement between the government and rebels in the south.
World Must Act Now On Darfur, With Millions of Lives At Stake – UN Relief Chief, UN News Service, Feb 18, 2005
The situation in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region is deteriorating rapidly, more than 4 million people could be in desperate need of life-saving aid by mid-year, and the Security Council and world at-large must act now to put a robust force on the ground and pressure on all sides, the top United Nations relief official warned today.
ANALYSIS-Peacemaking proves African Union’s baptism of fire, Reuters, Feb 17, 2005
NAIROBI – To its admirers, the African Union (AU) deserves respect for doing what no one else has even tried — deploying forces on the ground to end war in Darfur.
Solana voices doubts on Darfur case going to ICC, Financial Times, Feb 17, 2005
Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy representative, said yesterday the EU could fail in its bid to refer the Darfur massacres to the International Criminal Court, a development that would cast doubt on the court’s future.
U.S. Proposal for Darfur Tribunal Flawed; ICC Referral Needed, Human Rights Watch, Feb 17, 2005
The top U.N. human rights official will brief the Security Council today on atrocities in Darfur. Following Louise Arbour’s report, the Security Council should take prompt action to protect civilians and refer Darfur to the International Criminal Court, Human Rights Watch said.
Sudan: Food Shortages Spreading Beyond Conflict Areas, Refugees International, Feb 16, 2005
Sudan is facing a severe food shortage that extends far beyond war-torn Darfur and exceeds the World Food Program’s current resources. Only a quick increase in food pledges for drought afflicted areas throughout the country will avoid an increase in malnutrition.
Annan calls Darfur “short of hell on earth”, Reuters, Feb 16, 2005
UNITED NATIONS – U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday called on the Security Council to take immediate action to stop the slaughter, rape and pillage in Darfur, which he said neared “hell on earth.”
Highlights of New U.S. Draft on Sudan at UN, Reuters, Feb 14, 2005
UNITED NATIONS – The United States proposed on Monday a draft U.N. Security Council resolution on a peacekeeping force in southern Sudan and sanctions in Darfur. Following are highlights of the eight-page measure that may be voted on within two weeks.
Enhancing AU role is key factor in solving Darfur crisis: Hilde Johnson, SUNA, Feb 14, 2005
KHARTOUM – The Norwegian Minister of International Development, Hilde Johnson, said that enhancement of the African Union role is a key factor for solving the crisis of Darfur.
Week of Feb 7, 2005
Sudan opposition pushes for trials abroad for Darfur war crimes, AFP, Feb 13, 2005
KHARTOUM – Sudanese opposition parties from across the political spectrum pressed for Darfur war crimes suspects to stand trial abroad, backing the international community against the Khartoum regime.
Annan calls on NATO, EU to intervene in Sudan crisis, AFP, Feb 13, 21005
MUNICH, Germany – UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called here Sunday on NATO and the European Union to take action in Sudan’s Darfur region to end violence between ethnic minority rebels and government-backed forces.
Robin Cook: If not in Darfur, then where?: US hostility to the international criminal court knows no bounds, The Guardian, Feb 11, 2005
A commitment to an international criminal court was one of the changes for the better in foreign policy as a result of Labour’s victory.
Court of First Resort, The New York Times, Feb 10, 2005
TEN years ago, I asked Bosnian civilians under siege in Sarajevo where they would go if they could escape. Most chose one of the sand or pebble beaches along the Adriatic.
AU observers have failed people of Darfur: Sudan rebel leader, AFP, Feb 9, 2005
CAIRO – African Union (AU) observers monitoring a ceasefire between ethnic minority rebels and government forces in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region have failed the local population, a rebel leader charged.
EU Should Push for ICC Referral of Darfur During Rice Visit, Human Rights Watch, Feb 9, 2005
Brussels – The EU Troika should send a clear message to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the Security Council must refer Darfur to the International Criminal Court at the February 10 EU-USA Ministerial Meeting in Luxembourg, Human Rights Watch said today.
ICRC warns of sharp decline in Sudan’s conflict-ridden Darfur, AFP, Feb 9, 2005
The situation in Sudan’s conflict-ridden Darfur region is deteriorating sharply, the international Red Cross warned Wednesday as it urged more foreign aid agencies to move into rural areas.
UN Envoy Paints ‘Dismal’ Picture of State of Sudan’s Darfur Conflict,UN News Service, Feb 8, 2005
The top United Nations envoy for Sudan today painted a “dismal picture” of the situation in the Darfur region, even if not a bad as in early 2004, with the Government and rebels violating the ceasefire, atrocious crimes still going unpunished and humanitarian workers increasingly subjected to intimidation from both sides.
India exports battlefield radars to Sudan, Indonesia, Indo-Asian News Service, Feb 8, 2005
Bangalore – India has begun exporting battlefield survelliance radars (BFSRs) to Sudan and Indonesia even before inducting them into the Indian Army.
Lack of Access Muddies Death Toll in Darfur, The Washington Post, Feb 8, 2005
Sudan is stalling efforts by the United Nations to survey death rates in Darfur, contributing to confusion over the number of people who have died since a government-backed Arab militia launched a bloody counterinsurgency campaign nearly two years ago against the region’s black villagers, according to U.N. officials.
Farms destroyed, stricken Sudan’s Darfur faces food crisis, Wall Street Journal, Feb 7, 2005
FUR BARANGA, Sudan – After the killings, the rapes, and the expulsion of nearly two million farmers from their land, the people of Darfur are now facing a new threat — the worst food shortage in decades
Global effort is needed in Darfur, Baltimore Sun, Feb 6, 2005
MORE THAN 300,000 people have died in the Darfur region of Sudan from starvation, disease and violence during the past two years. How many more deaths will be tolerated before the international community will act?
Darfur denial, The Boston Globe, Feb 6, 2005
The United Nations Commission of Inquiry that has compiled devastating documentation of crimes against humanity in the Darfur region of Sudan nevertheless brought shame on the UN by submitting a report last week that absolves the National Islamic Front regime in Sudan of the crime of genocide.
Week of Jan 31, 2005
Sudan’s Beja opposition demands more power, Reuters, Feb 6, 2005
ASMARA (Reuters) – An opposition group from Sudan’s increasingly unstable east called on Sunday for more power and resources for the impoverished region, echoing demands made by other anti-Khartoum forces in Africa’s largest country.
Girls From Sudan’s War Now Fight to Learn, Washington Post, Feb 4, 2005
RUMBEK, Sudan — At 14, Mary Achok Marial knows how to handle an AK-47 assault rifle, but she can barely read.
Africa’s Routine Misery, Los Angeles Times, Feb 4, 2005
Every once in a while, something so awful happens in Africa that the rest of the world momentarily takes note of the continent.
Playing Politics with Genocide, Wall Street Journal, Feb 3, 2005
When the United Nations released its report on the atrocities in Sudan’s western region of Darfur Monday, the legal minds of that body absolved the regime in Khartoum of genocide by distinguishing between massacres with and without intention to destroy in whole or in part a population group.
SUDAN: Gunmen shoot at AU monitors in West Darfur, IRIN, Feb 2, 2005
NAIROBI – Gunmen in the western Sudanese state of Darfur on Monday opened fire on two African Union (AU) teams investigating reported cease-fire violations, AU officials said.
U.N. report on killing in Darfur has Brownback fuming, Kansas City Star, Feb 2, 2005
A memorial service last week commemorated the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. An award-winning film, “Hotel Rwanda,” reminded the world of the genocide there a decade ago.
Halt Darfur’s agony, Toronto Star, Feb 2, 2005
African men have been massacred in batches of 60 or more in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region.
Why Should We Shield The Killers?, New York Times, Feb 2, 2005
Two weeks ago, President Bush gave an impassioned speech to the world about the need to stand for human freedom.
Darfur Atrocities Do Not Amount to Genocide, UN Team Says, IRIN, Feb 1, 2005
NAIROBI – A UN-appointed commission of inquiry concluded on Monday that violence in Sudan’s western region of Darfur did not amount to genocide, but that mass killings of civilians had occurred in the strife-torn area.
Sudan: Those responsible for indiscriminate Port Sudan killings must be brought to justice, Amnesty International Press Release, Jan 31, 2005
Amnesty International today condemned the excessive use of force by security forces, which left more than 20 people dead and scores wounded, after demonstrations turned violent in Port Sudan over the weekend.
Week of Jan. 24, 2005
Armed police out in force after deadly riots in eastern Sudan, AFP, Jan 30, 2005
KHARTOUM – Armed police were out in force across Port Sudan, following two days of riots by ethnic minority protestors in which at least 14 people were killed, witnesses said.
UN Receives Report of Inquiry Into Possible Genocide in Darfur, UN News Service, Jan 27, 2005
New York – The report from the United Nations-appointed commission of inquiry into whether genocide has occurred in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region arrived today at UN Headquarters in New York.
GOP lawmaker: Stop Sudan ‘genocide’, CNN, Jan 27, 2005
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A bipartisan congressional delegation, accompanied by an Oscar-nominated actor, urged the United States and the international community Thursday to take action to end the war in the Darfur region of Sudan.
U.S. lobbies United Nations for new Darfur court, Reuters, Jan 28, 2005
UNITED NATIONS – The United States on Thursday lobbied U.N. Security Council members on a new court for perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region, in an effort to sidestep the International Criminal Court.
Hundred deaths feared in Darfur, BBC, Jan 26, 2005
Up to 105 civilians are thought to have died in fresh fighting in Sudan’s Darfur region, the United Nations says.
Regret, Resolve Over the Holocaust, Los Angeles Times, Jan 25, 2005
United Nations – In a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi death camps, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday that the U.N. would continue to fight ideologies based on hatred and exclusion.
Europe Revives Sudan Ties, Rueters, Jan 25, 2005
Brussels – The European Union restored ties with Sudan on Monday and offered $65 million in aid to help bolster a peace agreement there.
Sudan detains rights activist, no charges, Reuters, Jan 25, 2005
KHARTOUM – Sudanese security officials have detained a prominent rights activist for the second time in 14 months, his wife and Sudanese rights organisations said on Tuesday.
Bush’s Delicate Dilemma on Darfur, IPS, Jan 24, 2005
WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (IPS) – If U.S. President George W. Bush wants to show the world, particularly the European Union, a more multilateralist face in his second term, a special United Nations commission of inquiry that has been investigating war crimes in Darfur, Sudan is about to hand him a golden opportunity.
U.S. Lawmakers Meet Darfur Rebels, AP, Jan 24, 2005
Nairobi, Kenya – U.S. lawmakers who met with Darfur rebels in western Sudan and visited camps for Sudanese refugees in Chad over the weekend said they will be ask Washington to push for U.N. sanctions against the Sudanese government.
Support War Crimes Trials for Darfur, Washington Post, Jan 24, 2005
A U.N. commission chaired by the former president of the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, Antonio Cassese, is expected to issue its recommendation this week on whether the International Criminal Court should investigate human rights abuses in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Week of Jan. 16, 2005
Fighting in Darfur decreases, but Arab militias still attack: UN, AP, Jan 23, 2005
RUMBEK, Sudan — Fighting between government and rebels troops in Sudan’s western region of Darfur has decreased in the past month, but Arab militias still attack, rape and abduct villagers in the troubled region, the U.N. chief envoy to Sudan said Saturday.
Persistent violence in Sudan’s west threatens to derail peace in south, AP, Jan 21, 2005
RUMBEK, Sudan – A tenuous agreement to end Africa’s longest-running civil war has brought joy and hope to southern Sudan, along with international pledges to help develop the devastated region. But UN officials warn all that could be derailed if the conflict in the country’s western Darfur region persists.
African Union force in Darfur soon to reach 1,365, Reuters, Jan 21, 2005
ADDIS ABABA – The African Union said on Friday its protection force in Sudan’s western Darfur region would soon grow to 1,365 soldiers, with the impending deployment of 313 troops from Nigeria and Senegal.
US opposes Hague trial for Darfur war crimes suspects, AFP, Jan 21, 2005
WASHINGTON – The United States backed prosecution of Sudanese suspected of committing atrocities in the troubled Darfur region but opposed bringing them before the International Criminal Court.
U.S., Europe Debate Venue for Darfur Trials, Washington Post, Jan 21, 2005
UNITED NATIONS – The United States and the European Union are headed for a showdown over which court should try cases arising from mass killings in the Darfur region of Sudan, according to senior U.S. and European officials
Annan: Sudan suspects should go to global court, Reuters, Jan 19, 2005
UNITED NATIONS – U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday the most “logical place” to prosecute suspects of atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region was the International Criminal Court, a tribunal opposed by the United States.
Sudan child soldiers struggle to adapt to peace, Reuters, Jan 18, 2005
RUMBEK, Sudan – Former boy soldier Abraham Mabor considers himself a veteran of Sudan’s bitter civil war, and even has the scars to prove it.
Education desperately needed in post-war southern Sudan, Jan 18, 2005
Sudan Tribune, Sudan – Jan 18, 2005
RUMBEK, Sudan, Jan 18 (AFP) — The United Nations is making education a priority in post-conflict southern Sudan, saying it is crucial to developing a region where school enrollment is among the lowest in the world and illiteracy at alarming rates.
Tsunami Wipes Darfur Off Priority List, Washington Post, Jan 18, 2005
The South Asia tsunami not only wiped out more than 150,000 lives but also overwhelmed international media coverage of genocidal conflict in Sudan.
Chad: Refugee Camps Unaffected By Latest Security Problems in East, IRIN News, Jan 17, 2005
A series of clashes involving unidentified gunmen took place in eastern Chad earlier this month, but they did not affect the camps holding more than 200,000 refugees from Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, UN and government officials said Monday.
Week of Jan. 10, 2005
Health Officials Say They’ll End Polio in Africa, Despite Its Spread, New York Times, Jan. 16, 2005
Despite a growing polio epidemic in Africa, health ministers from the most seriously affected countries say they can stop its spread by the end of this year by intensifying efforts to immunize tens of millions of children.
Rights: Report Singles Out U.S., Sudan for Strong Censure, Inter Press Service, Jan 13, 2005
Washington – The impunity surrounding the ethnic cleansing in Darfur, Sudan and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in U.S.-occupied Iraq has dealt a serious blow to global efforts to strengthen respect for human rights, according to a major U.S. human rights group.
UN Mission Reports Fresh Round of Attacks By Armed Militias in Darfur Region of Sudan, UN News, Jan 13, 2005
New York – The security situation in some areas of Sudan’s South Darfur state is tense, the United Nations mission to the country reported today, after two attacks by unidentified armed militiamen earlier this week left at least one person dead.
U.S. Rep Wolf: We Must Not Forget the Tragedy Unfolding in Darfur, United States Congress Document, Jan 11, 2005
Washington, DC – Statement of U.S. Rep Frank Wolf (R-VA) – “I just returned from the signing of the peace agreement in Nairobi, Kenya, between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.”
No Room for Complacency as Humanitarian Situation in Darfur Remains Grim, Warns Oxfam, Oxfam International Press Release, Jan 11, 2005
The humanitarian crisis in Darfur must get the international attention it deserves, warned international agency Oxfam, as the UN Security Council convenes today to discuss the Secretary General’s latest report on Darfur.
Beshir pledges to boost services, infrastructure in south Sudan, AFP, Jan 11, 2005
KHARTOUM – President Omar al-Beshir pledged to develop services and infrastructure projects in southern Sudan to encourage the region to remain united with the north, newspapers reported Tuesday.
A peace deal for Sudan brings opportunity for freedom and oil prosperity, AP, Jan 11, 2005
NAIROBI, Kenya – An agreement to end two decades of civil war in Sudan not only brings the opportunity for millions of people to return home and begin new lives, it also gives investors an opening in a needy country with large oil reserves.
UN Council Vows Quick Move on Sudan Peacekeepers, Reuters, Jan 10, 2005
UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council pledged on Monday to quickly consider sending peacekeepers to Sudan after the government and the southern rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) signed an agreement to end Africa’s longest civil war.
Papers greet Sudan’s ‘new chapter’, BBC, Jan 10, 2005
Monday’s Arab press hails the accord between Khartoum and the southern rebels as a chance for peace and prosperity. But it also reflects concern over the continuing crisis in Darfur, as well as an awareness that the journey of reconstruction has only just begun.
Stop the Genocide, Washington Post, op-ed by Jon S. Corzine and Sam Brownback, Jan 11, 2005
While we are rightly focused on one of the worst natural disasters ever, the tsunami tragedy, we cannot afford to divert our attention from one of the worst man-made tragedies of our lifetimes: the genocide in Darfur.
Week of Jan. 3, 2005
Powell signs Sudan peace deal, wants progress on resolving Darfur crisis, AP, Jan 9, 2005
NAIROBI, Kenya – After signing an accord that ends the long-running civil war in Sudan’s south, the United States expects immediate progress on the crisis in the western region of Darfur, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday.
Peace treaty ends Sudan’s civil war, but conflict in Dafur rages on, Knight Ridder, Jan. 9, 2005
NAIROBI, Kenya – Sudan’s government and southern rebels clinched a historic, long-awaited agreement Sunday that ends Africa’s longest civil war and brings hope to millions of exiled Sudanese yearning to return home.
Sudan Peace to Spur Oil Growth, But West Still Wary, Reuters, Jan. 7, 2005
CAIRO – An imminent peace deal to end war in southern Sudan will encourage expansion in an oil industry that has managed surprising growth despite two decades of war.
Sudan: North-South peace deal leaves future of human rights uncertain, Amnnesty International Press Release, Jan. 7, 2005
Amnesty International hopes that the comprehensive peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) will usher in a new era for the protection of the rights of the Sudanese people as well as reforms to address injustice, discrimination and gross human rights violations in the country.
Sudan: Atrocities, Impunity Threaten Lasting Peace, Human Rights Watch, Jan. 6, 2005
New York – Continuing atrocities in the western region of Darfur and impunity for war crimes in the south jeopardize prospects for peace in Sudan, Human Rights Watch warned today ahead of the January 9 signing of a peace agreement to end the 21-year conflict in the south.
Sudan’s forgotten victims live life on the edge, Reuters, Jan. 6, 2005
MAYO, Sudan – Hashim Khalil Osman peeks out from the remains of his hut, partly bulldozed and then patched up with plastic sacking, to see if help has arrived to alleviate the misery of life in the slum suburbs of Khartoum.
PetroSA to send technicians to explore oil possibilities in the Sudan, Business Report, Jan. 5, 2005
Johannesburg – PetroSA, South Africa’s national oil company, is to send technicians to the Sudan to establish whether there are commercially exploitable quantities of oil in an exploration block that it has been allocated.
Southern Sudan rebels offer help to end Darfur conflict, AFP, Jan. 5, 2005
KHARTOUM – Sudan’s main southern rebel group wants to help resolve the conflict in the war-torn western region of Darfur, saying it has a few ideas about what to do, a Sudanese daily reported Wednesday.
Darfur rebels claim shooting down Sudan army chopper in new clashes, AFP, Jan. 5, 2005
NAIROBI – One of the rebel groups fighting in Sudan’s western region of Darfur late Tuesday claimed that its fighters this week shot down a government helicopter in new clashes in northern Darfur state.
Resort to the G word takes place of action in Darfur, Financial Times, Jan. 4, 2005
Sudanese forces and allied Arab militias had been rampaging through villages in Darfur for months, terrorising and killing thousands of Africans, when Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, spoke of his “deep sense of foreboding” about the crisis in April.
Sudan: Successful Ceasefire Monitoring in Southern Sudan, Refugees International Press Release, Jan. 3, 2005
While fighting in Sudan’s western region of Darfur continues, the government of Sudan and opposition groups in the south are edging toward the end of a long civil war.
Week of Dec. 27, 2004
Sudanese president suggests power sharing, AP, Jan. 2, 2005
KHARTOUM, Sudan — Encouraged by the signing of a peace deal with southern rebels, Sudan’s president suggested Saturday that he may hold power and wealth sharing talks with rebels fighting army forces in the western region of Darfur.
Details of permanent cease-fire in Sudan civil war emerge, AP, Jan. 2, 2005
NAIROBI, Kenya — A peace accord ending Africa’s longest-running civil war requires Sudan’s government to withdraw at least 91,000 troops from the rebel-controlled south, a rebel official said Sunday, revealing new details of the deal signed last week.
Sudan, Southern Rebels a Step Closer to Ending 21-Year War, LA Times, Jan. 1, 2005
UNITED NATIONS — Sudan’s government signed a preliminary peace deal Friday with rebels from the country’s south, edging one step closer to a comprehensive accord to end Africa’s longest running civil war.
Imminent Peace Deal in Southern Sudan Offers Blueprint for Darfur – Annan, UN News, Dec. 30, 2004
As reports indicate that the Sudanese Government and rebels are likely to sign a peace deal ending the 21-year civil war in the country’s south, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that an agreement could serve as a blueprint for resolving the separate crisis engulfing Sudan’s Darfur region.
Thousands of displaced Sudanese being relocated from crowded camp, UN says,UN News, Dec. 29, 2004
Half of the estimated 120,000 internally displaced persons in the swollen Kalma Camp in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region will be relocated to three new sites early next month, the United Nations reported today.
Ninety-nine die in central Sudan clashes with Darfur rebels: officials, AFP, Dec. 29, 2004
KHARTOUM — Recent clashes between pro-government forces and rebels from the war-torn Darfur region have left 99 people dead, including 62 members of the Popular Defense Forces and 21 rebel fighters, Sudanese officials said Wednesday.
UN Agency Suspends Food Convoys to Darfur, Sudan After Rebels Attack Town, UN News, Dec. 28, 2004
About 260,000 people in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region will miss their food ration this month because the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to suspend its relief convoys after rebels yesterday launched a large-scale attack on a nearby town and government forces retaliated.
Mbeki to visit Sudan for rebuilding talks ahead of key peace pact, AFP, Dec. 28, 2004
JOHANNESBURG — South African President Thabo Mbeki will Thursday travel to Sudan to discuss post-war rebuilding ahead of a peace pact expected to be signed by Khartoum and the main rebel group to end two decades of conflict.
Sudan rebels say attack government near Darfur, Reuters, Dec. 27, 2004
KHARTOUM – A new rebel group from the western Sudanese Darfur region said it attacked government forces in an area neighbouring Darfur on Monday, killing 150 soldiers and policemen and stealing equipment.
US shift on Darfur policy, Washington Post, Dec. 27, 2004
The Bush administration signaled a new course on Sudan last week, and none too soon.
Week of Dec. 20, 2004
MSF stays put in Sudan’s Darfur despite death of its worker, PANA, Dec. 25, 2004
PARIS, France — Medical NGO “Médecins sans frontière” or Doctors without borders, with the French acronym, MSF, Friday pledged to continue its humanitarian aid work in Sudan’s troubled western region of Darfur despite renewed violence and the death of one of its workers.
Press Release on Protection Force Deployment, African Union, Dec. 23, 2004
Addis Ababa — The Commission of the African Union is pleased to inform all concerned that it has completed the deployment of the Contingent from the Republic of The Gambia which Comprises 196 military personnel
An Insistent Appeal for Aid To Africa, Washington Post, Dec. 22, 2004
Jan Egeland, the U.N. undersecretary for humanitarian affairs and the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, had a dual purpose for his visit to Washington this week.
Sudan rebels pledge no new attacks in Darfur; AU ends peace talks, AP, Dec. 22, 2004
ABUJA, Nigeria — Sudan rebels pledged Tuesday not to launch any attacks in the Darfur region as long as government soldiers kept their promise of a cease-fire, while African Union mediators ended peace talks that reached a stalemate after 11 days.
Sudan: Relief Agency Pulls Out of Darfur Region, IRIN, Dec. 21, 2004
Nairobi — The British charity, Save the Children (SC UK), has discontinued its humanitarian operations in the western Sudanese region of Darfur following the deaths of four staff members in two separate incidents over the past two months.
Sudan parliament extends state of emergency, AFP, Dec. 21, 2004
KHARTOUM — Sudan’s parliament approved a one-year extension of the five-year-old state of emergency amid ongoing security concerns in Darfur and in the south, the official SUNA news agency reported Tuesday.
Darfur Monitors Halt Work Under Fire, Reuters, Dec. 21, 2004
KHARTOUM, Sudan — African Union truce monitors suspended operations in South Darfur state after one of their helicopters came under fire.
Sudan’s Darfur peace talks suspended until January: African Union, AFP, Dec. 21, 2004
ABUJA, — Peace talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur’s main rebel movements have been suspended until January, according to a joint statement from the parties released by the African Union on Tuesday.
Too far to care: The African Union needs much more support in Sudan, Financial Times, UK, Dec. 20, 2004
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s impoverished Darfur region is getting worse, not better.
White House: Darfur rebels, Sudan govt, violated ceasefire, AP, Dec. 20, 2004
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration expressed grave concern Monday about a recent increase in violence in Sudan’s Darfur region, accusing both sides of violating a cease fire.
African Union military observers in Darfur probe attack on helicopter, AFP, Dec. 20, 2004
ABUJA – The African Union observer force in the war-torn western Sudanese province of Darfur has launched an investigation into an attack on one of its helicopters, AU spokesman Assane Ba said.
Week of Dec. 13, 2004
Cease-fire violations growing in Sudan’s bloodied Darfur region, African Union says, Associated Press, Dec. 13, 2004
ABUJA, Nigeria – Cease-fire violations are on the rise in Sudan’s bloodied Darfur region and the fighting is “poisoning” peace talks, where government and rebel negotiators met Monday for the first time, officials said.
Polio outbreak in Sudan raises alarm, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dec. 13, 2004
HARA AL-ZAWIYAH, Sudan — This tiny, sand-blown Arab village in a remote corner of Darfur appears to be spared the violence and suffering endemic to the rest of western Sudan.
Arab herders take over lands of black African farmers
, Knight Ridder, Dec 14, 2004
ARAMBA, Sudan – There are no black Africans in this sun-bleached valley.
UN says 10,000 peacekeepers needed for Sudan, Reuters, Dec 15, 2004
UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations will recommend up to 10,000 peacekeepers for Sudan if Khartoum and
southern rebels sign a landmark peace agreement to end a 21-year-old civil war, a senior U.N. envoy has said.
African Union mediators try to coax Darfur rebels back to peace talks, AFP, Dec 15, 2004
ABUJA — African Union mediators on Wednesday held closed-door talks with representatives of two Sudanese rebel movements to try to coax them back to AU-brokered peace talks for the vast country’s western Darfur region.
Sudan Liberation Army rebels may have killed aid workers – UN, Associated Press, Dec 16, 2004
KHARTOUM, Sudan — There are indications that the rebel Sudan Liberation Army may have been responsible for the shooting death of two aid workers earlier this week, a U.N. spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Sudan ‘plans huge Darfur attack’, BBC, Dec 17, 2004
The Sudanese government is preparing a huge offensive in war-torn Darfur, the head of the African observer team says.
Flood of arms turning Sudan’s Darfur region into giant powder keg: monitors, Associate Press, Dec 17, 2004
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) – Weapons flooding into Sudan’s Darfur region have turned the already bloodied area into a “time bomb waiting to explode,” African Union ceasefire monitors said Friday.
Kenya: Cash Or Food Needed Urgently for Refugees – WFP, UN IRIN, Dec 17, 2004
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday that thousands of refugees in Kenya could go hungry unless it received immediate donations of cash or food.
Facing Down the Killers, New York Times, Dec 18, 2004
The new movie “Hotel Rwanda” is a gut-wrenching true story of a hotel manager who sheltered 1,268 people in his hotel during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, bribing, begging and bullying the killers who came to hack people apart with machetes.
Week of Dec. 6, 2004
Oxfam boss leaves Sudan after visa row, Reuters, Dec. 12, 2004
KHARTOUM – The head of charity Oxfam in Sudan has left the country, days after Sudanese officials ordered him to leave for working under a wrong visa.
Sudan: Maternal Mortality Among the Highest in the World, UNFPA, UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, Dec. 10, 2004
Nairobi – The high number of among dying women in Sudan from causes linked to pregnancy, childbirth and low prevalence of natal care was of serious concern, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said on Thursday during its annual country programme review in Khartoum.
Sudan: UN Agencies Warn of Fresh Round of Displacement After Fighting in Darfur, UN News Service, Dec. 10, 2004
Thousands of people have been displaced for the second time in a month because of fresh outbreaks of fighting between Government forces and rebel groups in the war-torn Darfur region of western Sudan, United Nations humanitarian agencies are reporting.
African Union ‘doing its best’ in Darfur, AU commission chief says, AFP, Dec. 9, 2004
ADDIS ABABA — The African Union is “doing its best” in Sudan’s western Darfur region, the president of the continental body’s commission, Alpha Oumar Konare, has said, rejecting criticism that the AU has not deployed ceasefire monitors in the region quickly enough.
Unraveling the African Tragedy, LA Times, Dec. 9, 2004
The catalog of horrors that is Africa knows few boundaries. Genocide and ethnic cleansing in Rwanda and Darfur have ripped a hole in the heart of the continent, on top of two wars in Congo and southern Sudan that have left 5 1/2 million dead.
Darfur: Where Is Europe?, Washington Post, Dec. 9, 2004
On Nov. 8, a U.N.-appointed commission of inquiry arrived in the Darfur region of western Sudan, to determine whether the slaughter of close to 100,000 people over the past six months constitutes genocide. While this three-month mission slowly goes about its business, Darfur continues to disintegrate into a horror zone of killing fields, mass rapes and ethnic cleansing.
Sudan to attract most ICRC funds in 2005, 30-percent drop in cash for Iraq, AFP, Dec. 8, 2004
Strife-torn Sudan will become the largest focus of aid work for the International Committee of the Red Cross in 2005, while money earmarked for Iraq will fall by almost one third, the agency said on Wednesday.
Women’s lives and bodies — unrecognized casualties of war, Amnesty International Press Release, Dec. 8, 2004
Women and girls bear the brunt of armed conflicts fought today both as direct targets and as unrecognized “collateral damage”. Lives Blown Apart a new report in Amnesty International’s campaign, Stop Violence Against Women, calls for global action to challenge both the violence and the failure of governments to prevent it.
Security Council voices ‘deep concern’ at deteriorating situation in Darfur, UN News Service, Dec. 7, 2004
Alarmed that the deteriorating security situation in Sudan’s western Darfur region risks degenerating into chaos, the United Nations Security Council today called on the Government and rebels to abide by their pledges to end what the UN has termed the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
U.S. angry that U.N. rights panel won’t disqualify repressive governments, Associated Press, Dec. 7, 2004
WASHINGTON – Most people would say countries that tolerate slavery should be ineligible for membership on the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. Same goes for those guilty of crimes against humanity.
UN Envoy Meets With Parties in Southern Sudan Conflict in Bid to Forge Peace, UN News Service, Dec. 6, 2004
With the clock ticking towards the 31 December deadline for concluding a peace agreement in southern Sudan, a senior United Nations envoy was today meeting with major players in efforts to formally end the civil war that has dragged on for more than two decades in Africa’s largest country.
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