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August 5th, 2007 - OurPledge.org (AADG) Permalink 
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Darfur war crimes suspect has free rein
From the Los Angeles Times:
By Maggie Farley
August 5, 2007
EL FASHER, SUDAN—For a man accused of masterminding massacres, Ahmad Harun seems quite comfortable in the place he allegedly helped destroy.
He strolls around the grassy compound belonging to the local governor in Sudan’s deeply troubled Darfur region, embracing Arab tribal leaders, soldiers and officials who have come to hear the president.
Harun, a tall 42-year-old with high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes, was in charge of the region’s security during the height of the violent attacks on farm villages that caused millions to flee their homes in 2003 and 2004. He allegedly recruited, funded and armed local militias to root out rebels who had attacked the Sudanese army, sweeping away their villages, families and the intricate fabric of Darfur’s identity along the way.
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August 3rd, 2007 - OurPledge.org (AADG) Permalink Comments
Truth-teller
The latest from Eric Reeves. An important analytic bookend to recent Darfur news:
On China’s vote for UN Security Council Resolution 1769
by Eric Reeves
From The New Republic (on-line), August 2, 2007
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w070730&s=reeves080207
News reports have been busy celebrating Monday’s passage of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1769, authorizing the deployment of a “hybrid” U.N./African Union force to the Darfur region of western Sudan. Particular note has been made of the Chapter 7 mandate for parts of the mission, an essential provision that gives this hybrid force the authority to intervene militarily, rather than just sit back and observe. On these points, the resolution appears to echo Resolution 1706, which the Security Council passed last August. That resolution similarly authorized a large and robust–if “unhybridized”–U.N. peacekeeping operation for Darfur under Chapter 7 authority.
So what has changed? Last year, China abstained from voting on the resolution, signaling to the Islamist regime in Khartoum that it could resist its implementation without fear of isolation. As a result, within weeks of the resolution’s passage, the U.N. Secretariat and its special representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, capitulated, arguing instead for more assistance to the hopelessly inadequate African Union force. This year, by contrast, the vote for Resolution 1769 was unanimous. In the end, even China came on board.
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August 1st, 2007 - OurPledge.org (AADG) Permalink Comments
U.N. approves up to 26,000 troops, police for Darfur
Tue Jul 31, 2007 5:10PM EDT
By Evelyn Leopold
United Nations (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council authorized on Tuesday up to 26,000 troops and police for Darfur and approved the use of force to protect civilians in Sudan’s arid western region.
Expected to cost more than $2 billion in the first year, the combined “hybrid” U.N.-African Union operation aims to quell violence in Darfur, where more than 2.1 million people have been driven into camps and an estimated 200,000 have died over the past four years.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who conducted months of talks with Khartoum, described the resolution as “historic and unprecedented” and said the mission would “make a clear and positive difference.”
The resolution, number 1769, invokes Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, under which the United Nations can authorize force. The measure allows the use of force for self-defense, to ensure the free movement of humanitarian workers and to protect civilians under attack, but acknowledges Sudan’s sovereignty.
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July 31st, 2007 - OurPledge.org (AADG) Permalink Comments
The Vote Was 418-1
[Via the Sudan Divestment Task Force:]
US House of Representatives Passes Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act - 7/31/07
The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 180, the Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act. H.R. 180 would require the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a list of companies whose business activities in Sudan directly support the Sudanese Government. The measure also authorizes divestment by state and local governments and bans the federal government from contracting with companies on the Treasury list.
[End of Post]
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July 27th, 2007 - Nikki Serapio Permalink Comments
Chinese Government refuses to accept Darfur petitions
Today, the Government of China refused to meet with members of the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition. For more info, watch this video.. Also, see the photo set below. (Try refreshing this page if you can’t view either the video or the photos.)
[End of Post]
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July 26th, 2007 - OurPledge.org (AADG) Permalink Comments
Aid Convoys Under Attack in Darfur
Thursday July 26, 2007 12:46 AM
By Alfred de Montesquiou
Associated Press Writer
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - A dramatic increase in attacks on aid convoys in Darfur is hampering the world’s largest humanitarian operation, and some 170,000 people are now out of reach of food aid because of the violence, the United Nations’ World Food Programme said Wednesday.
Nine food convoys have been ambushed by gunmen across the war-torn region of western Sudan over the last two weeks alone, the WFP said in a statement.
The U.N. food agency condemned the “dramatic escalation in attacks on humanitarian staff and food convoys.’’ It said the violence was endangering the WFP’s ability to deliver assistance to millions of hungry people.
“WFP was not able to reach 170,000 people in June, a sizable increase from the lowest point last March when 60,000 could not be reached,’’ the WFP said.
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July 23rd, 2007 - OurPledge.org (AADG) Permalink Comments
Sudan Will Not Allow Darfur Peacekeepers to Use All Means Necessary
By Nick Wadhams - Voice of America
23 July 2007, Nairobi—Sudan’s government is warning that it will not accept a joint United Nations and African Union force that has the mandate to use all means necessary - including force - to keep the peace in Darfur. As Nick Wadhams reports from Nairobi, a foreign ministry spokesman says he believes a compromise can be found even though the demand may be a deal-breaker for the U.N. Security Council.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali Sadiq Ali says Sudan is in consultations about the mandate for a force of 26,000 troops sent to Darfur by the African Union and the United Nations.
France and Britain have drafted a resolution that would allow the peacekeepers to use all necessary means, including force, to protect itself as well as civilians in Darfur. Some 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million have fled since fighting began there in 2003.
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July 20th, 2007 - OurPledge.org (AADG) Permalink Comments
Chadian president accepts idea of EU peacekeepers to protect Darfur refugees
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 19, 2007
PARIS: Chadian President Idriss Deby said Thursday that he supports the idea of an interim European Union peacekeeping force in the African nation to protect people affected by violence spilling over from neighboring Darfur.
Deby spoke after meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been pushing for the force.
EU foreign ministers were expected next week to start planning for a possible six-to-12-month peacekeeping mission in Chad, to where masses have fled violence in the neighboring Darfur region of Sudan.
“We have not yet finished (discussions), but Chad thinks the presence of the international community is important in one way or another, to protect refugees and the displaced and to prevent incursions by the janjaweed militia inside the national territory,” Deby said.
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July 16th, 2007 - OurPledge.org (AADG) Permalink Comments
Sudan concerned by UN-AU Darfur force mandate
Sun 15 Jul 2007, 8:53 GMT
http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN535606.html
By Opheera McDoom
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan said on Sunday it had reservations about the mandate given to a 26,000-strong U.N.-African Union Darfur force under a draft U.N. Security Council resolution.
After months of talks, threats and negotiations, Khartoum finally agreed to the force to bolster 7,000 struggling AU troops and police who have failed to stem the violence which international experts estimate has killed 200,000.
“At the current stage we do not accept it, we have reservations,” said foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig.
“We are engaged in consultations with the members of the Security Council … we believe we will come to an agreed language,” he added.
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July 13th, 2007 - OurPledge.org (AADG) Permalink Comments
Sudan resumes bombing in Darfur
From BBC News:
Published: 2007/07/13 17:24:18 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6898158.stm
Sudan’s government has resumed bombing in the country’s troubled western region of Darfur, says US special envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios.
Mr Natsios urged Sudan to stop its campaign and respect a 2004 ceasefire.
He said the bombing was focused on the Jebel Marra region, a stronghold of one of the rebel faction leaders, Abdul Wahid Mohammed Nour.
Some 200,000 people have died in Darfur in the past four years, while 2m have fled their homes, the UN says.
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