Attacks on Aid Workers Hit Record in 2008

Recent upset in Chad has Sudanese military, janjaweed militias on warpath

(NEWSER) - Darfur may be on a road back to the pitched fighting between rebels, militias and the Sudanese army that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions 5 years ago, prompting the US to call it genocide, the New York Times reports. The Sudanese government recently stepped up operations in the area, creating “a population that is just being attacked from both sides.” More»

Beijing is trying to block UN report to the contrary

(NEWSER) - China is attempting to block publication of UN report stating that Chinese bullets were used in attacks against UN peacekeeping forces in Darfur, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The report states that 11 different kinds of Chinese-made bullet casings were found at sites where government-allied militia members attacked UN or African Union forces, but a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry dismissed the claims as “unconfirmed” and “groundless.” More»

Actress slams president's Darfur policy in Newsweek

(NEWSER) - Angelina Jolie “hates” President Obama so much that she and partner Brad Pitt “get in nasty arguments all the time” about him, sources tell Us —and she lets a bit of her distaste shine through in a piece she wrote for Newsweek on Darfur. “When the administration says it intends to work to 'improve the lives of the people of Darfur,' I would like to know what that means, besides the obvious point that their lives could hardly get worse.” More»

Peacekeeping troops establish contact, plead for their release

(NEWSER) - Two staffers supporting peacekeeping operations in Darfur were kidnapped from their homes this morning, the AP reports. The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force has established contact with the abductors. “We are here to protect civilians," the head of the mission told them. "We are not part of the conflict.” A spokesman declined to identify the kidnappers, save as an "armed group." The development comes a week after a top UN official pronounced the Darfur war over. More»

(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." More»