Darfur Today
In May 2006 there was a landmark peace deal signing between the largest rebel group, the SLA and the Sudanese Government. However, other rebel groups did not want to sign and are determined to de-stabalize the peace. The bandits and militias called the Janjaweed, covertly supported financially by the Sudanese Government to do their dirty work while publicly they denounce them, continue to attack in Darfur.
The violence has spilled over into Chad – spreading ever greater numbers of refugees. The issue of Darfur has become a ‘hot political topic’ in the USA and the UK. Hollywood stars, university campuses and community groups all over the world have canvassed and marched on the issue. But even as the 10th anniversary of Rwanda came and went, and politicians and presidents declared it would never happen again – Darfur was suffering mass indiscriminate killings on a vast and systematic scale.
It is still the world’s ‘greatest humanitarian disaster,’ as described by Kofi Annan. Peace now rests on whether the international community – namely the UK and USA will force Sudan and Chad to accept a UN force to work alongside the impotent African Peacekeepers. With only words and no action from the international community – the future looks bleak indeed.
