|
|
 |
News Archives
| Attack in
Darfur kills dozens |
In the past month, raids and attacks have increased by
government-supported militias due to the recently signed
peace agreement for Darfur. Recently, dozens of people were
killed in an attack by said militias in Shearia.
"The attack on Shearia was yesterday -- the Janjaweed have
attacked many many places in South Darfur despite the peace
deal," said al-Tayyib Khamis on the recent wave of raids.
|
|
|
|
Truthout.org: Darfur Effort Said to Face Collapse
|
Truthout.org has published an article concerning the
worrisome events that have taken place in Sudan during the
past couple of weeks. As a well-produced summary, it is a
great way to alert friends and family to the Darfur crisis.
You can read it
here.
|
|
|
| Bush urges
Congress to approve $225 million in emergency spending
|
Yesterday, President Bush announced that the U.S. would "not
turn away from the tragedy" in Darfur. Along with his
announcement of five emergency aid ships being sent to
region, the President is urging Congress to approve a $225
million emergency spending fund, which will be part of a
plan that will also be used for the Iraq war and Hurricane
Katrina relief.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be addressing the
U.N. today, hoping to bring about a resolution to accelerate
deployment of peacekeepers to Darfur. "We're now working
with the UN to identify countries that contribute those
troops, so the peacekeeping effort will be robust," Bush
stated.
Now is the time to
Voice Yourself to your congressmen! |
|
|
| Egeland
requests Sudanese help |
|
After being forced to flee the Kalma camp in Darfur, where
an African Union interpreter was killed by an angry mob of
camp residents, U.N. Humanitarian Chief Jan Egeland met with
government officials earlier today, asking them to make it
easier for aid workers to do their jobs in Darfur. Egeland
reported that he would be seeking to ease travel
restrictions in Khartoum to prevent the strict bureaucracy
from restricting aid workers in the future. "The
humanitarian operation is unsustainable... and we are here
to work together with the government but they have to help
us help their people." |
|
|
| Pushing
Darfur Peace Accord
|
As we reported recently, negotiations have been happening in
Abuja, Nigeria between the Sudanese government and Darfur
rebel groups. Minni Minnawi, leader of the largest faction,
was earlier reported as telling Deputy Secretary of State
Robert B. Zoellick that he supported the peace agreement. In
front of many officials at the presidential villa, Minnawi
announced that he now opposes the peace agreement.
"I am disappointed in you. I expect people to keep their
word. I can be a very good friend, but I am a fearsome
enemy," Zoellick said in confrontation with Minnawi's
decision. Minnawi finally caved seventeen hours later, after
learning of the death of his brother in Darfur. |
|
|
| Bush
requests quicker deployment of peacekeepers
|
|
Tomorrow, President Bush will be sending Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice to the world body in order to request a
quicker deployment of U.N. peacekeepers to Sudan. Bush has
already asked the Sudanese government to support these
peacekeepers. "The vulnerable people of Darfur deserve
more than sympathy. They deserve the active protection that
U.N. peacekeeping can provide." |
|
|
| Aid workers
forced to flee Darfur camp |
Today, Jan Egeland, the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs, along with aid workers and journalists
(including CNN's Nic Robertson) were forced to flee a
refugee camp in Darfur after violent demonstrators killed a
Sudanese interpreter working with the African Union.
The violent uprisings began when a group of residents at the
[Kalma] camp "misinterpreted what an Oxfam interpreter was
telling officials from the UK-based charity and declared he
was a government spy". The mob made attempts to prevent the
vehicle transporting the journalists and aid workers from
fleeing, all the while destroying it and trying to stab the
interpreter.
Earlier in the day, Egeland was met by 500 demonstrators
demanding that the Sudanese government allow for U.N.
intervention. Egeland calls peacekeepers "vital" to ending
the genocide.
A spokesperson for the Sudanese government stated Saturday
that Sudan would open its doors to U.N. peacekeepers,
although, more recently a foreign ministry spokesman
suggested that Sudan has not yet decided whether or not this
vision of hope would become a reality. |
|
|
| Sudanese
Government and Darfur Rebel Group Sign Peace Plan
|
|
Today, the Sudanese Government along with the large rebel
group, Minni Minnawis, have agreed to sign a peace treaty to
end the ruthless killing and conflict in Darfur. Although
only one group has reached this accord, and a few smaller
groups have rejected the treaty, this has the potential to
be a very large step forward to ending the madness that has
been going on in the Darfur region since 2003. U.S. Deputy
Secretary of State, Robert Zoellick is now looking ahead to
organizing a U.N. peacekeeping force for Darfur, and
although the Sudanese government originally rejected offers
of U.N. intervention, it seems as though it may allow the
international help the country has needed for so long. |
|
|
| U.S. Urges
Darfur Peace Pact
|
This past Wednesday, United States officials forged an
agreement between the Sudanese government and the rebels of
the Darfur region to jump-start their stalled peace
negotiations. The Sudanese government projected an open
image towards taking steps in the right direction.
Despite the fact that the Sudanese government seemed willing
to quickly disarm the Janjaweed militia and accept more
rebels into its security forces yesterday, negotiations
between the two groups continued late, which will lead up to
the deadline of midnight tonight. One diplomat had this to
say on the situation:
"It's a very grim situation. If there's no agreement, the
alternative is disastrous." |
|
|
| Rally to
End Genocide a Success
|
Yesterday, thousands upon thousands of protesters rallied in
Washington D.C., united across religious, political, and
ethnic divides to show President Bush and Congress that this
genocide can no longer be ignored.
They cried out phrases in Arabic and held signs in
Hebrew. But on this day, they said, they didn't come out as
Jews or Muslims, Christians or Sikhs, Republicans or
Democrats. They came out as one, they said, to demand that
the Bush administration place additional sanctions on Sudan
and push harder for a multinational peacekeeping force to be
sent to Darfur.
Enormous thanks go out to every volunteer and participant
who made this rally a possibility, and a success. Elysa will
be reporting back to us with photos and video from the
event.
If you were present at the rally, please
contact us with your photos and reports. Thank you!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operation Sudan is a nonprofit, charitable organization aimed at raising awareness for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan. 100% of all proceeds go directly to the Save Darfur Coalition and are used to aid the refugees and coalition programs. Please direct any further questions, comments to the webmasters Go here for web hosting Special thanks to Handcrafted for getting the website back for us. And lastly Netcraft for getting it all done.
|
|
|
