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Not So Fast, UN: Darfur War Isn't Over

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 28, 2009 11:15 AM CDT

(Newser) – A top UN official has declared that the "real war" in Darfur is over, but that might come as a surprise to the 3 million or so refugees still living in fear of militia attacks, writes Andrew Meldrum for Global Post. He talks to relief officials who find the pronouncement "incredibly premature," in the words of one. It "directly contradicts what we see on the ground."

For starters, Sudan and rebel groups have not hammered out a political resolution. And the government—which seems immune to international pressure—is thought to be stockpiling arms. "It is the government that turns the tap on and off," an analyst tells the BBC. "They can restart the violence whenever they want." Perhaps most telling, the millions of refugees in various African camps have shown no inclination to head back home and resume their lives.

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In this image provided by Physicians for Human Rights, Darfuri women return to a UN refugee camp near Farchana, Chad, in 2008. (AP Photo/Physicians for Human Rights, Dr. Lin Piwowarczyk)

Two displaced Sudanese women line up outside the Egyptian military hospital at Abu Shouk refugee camp, outside the Darfur town of al-Fasher, in March. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Displaced Sudanese women line up outside the Egyptian military field hospital at Abu Shouk refugee camp, outside the Darfur town of al-Fasher, Sudan, in March. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

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There may be a lull in the violence, but you cannot say that it is over. There is no political settlement and no political process to resolve the conflict. - Colin Thomas-Jensen, policy adviser for Enough, an anti-genocide project

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