Darfur Sinking Into Chaos of Warring Rebel Groups

After getting the boot in March, NGOs to return to troubled region

(NEWSER) - The Sudanese government says it will invite new aid groups to work in Darfur and let the UN and other agencies expand their operations in the region. The announcement comes two months after Sudan expelled 13 NGOs, including Doctors Without Borders, in the aftermath of the International Criminal Court's indictment of President Omar al-Bashir. The UN's humanitarian chief said he would have preferred if Sudan had reversed the earlier expulsions but was encouraged by the "welcome degree of flexibility." More»

Op-ed: Other nations must keep up pressure ahead of referendum

(NEWSER) - For Sudan, this might be as optimistic as it gets: Two experts have returned from a two-week visit and concluded that war and violence "are not inevitable" following January's referendum on southern independence. "But only if the international community sets clear lines of acceptable behavior as the two sides manage an acrimonious and potentially violent divorce," write Michael Abramowitz of the US holocaust museum and former envoy Andrew Natsios in the Boston Globe . More»

'I don't think about politics,' Brit says

(NEWSER) - Stephen Constantine is known for tackling lost causes. He’s brought unexpected success to such hard-luck national soccer squads in India, Nepal and Malawi. “I seem to get the really tough jobs others don’t want,” he tells the Wall Street Journal. Now he’s got arguably his toughest yet: Sudan. The hapless Desert Hawks have managed just one African Cup appearance, and never qualified for the World Cup. More»

Says media claims are part of propaganda campaign

(NEWSER) - Sudan’s president says his military hasn’t attacked civilians in Darfur and challenges “anybody” to show evidence to the contrary. “What has been reported to have happened in Darfur did not actually happen at all,” Omar al Bashir told the BBC in his first interview since being charged with war crimes. “What happened in Darfur was an insurgency. The state has the responsibility to fight the rebels.” More»

(NEWSER) - The humanitarian situation in Darfur will worsen significantly in just a few weeks if aid organizations do not move quickly, says the new American envoy. Scott Gration said groups expelled by President Omar Bashir last month for allegedly colluding with the International Criminal Court to indict him on war crimes must be replaced, reports Reuters. “We are on the brink of a deeper crisis in Darfur,” he said. More»