Sudan's Leader Meets Pope, Vows to Honor Ceasefire

Sudan's 2.5M refugees struggle to survive

(NEWSER) - "It is unsafe for me to go back home and it's not safe here," a resident of Abu Chok, a refugee camp in Darfur currently home to 54,000, tells the Guardian. Residents endure endemic malnutrition, malaria, and typhoid in hopes of security—the camp is 4 miles from a base for African Union forces—but find that government-sponsored attacks follow them everywhere. More»

Bashir, charged with genocide, holds rally at scene of crimes

(NEWSER) - Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president allegedly behind one of the world's worst campaigns of genocide and rape, traveled to Darfur yesterday to begin an uncharacteristic charm offensive. "We are with you, Darfur!", the president said, as he danced at a rally packed with thousands who appeared to have been forced to attend. The spectacle is part of Bashir's effort to head off an arrest warrant sought by prosecutors in The Hague, reports the New York Times. More»

Court could arrest al-Bashir over Darfur genocide

(NEWSER) - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was officially accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity today in International Criminal Court, the BBC reports. The court must now decide whether to issue a warrant for Bashir’s arrest. If it does, Sudan’s government says it will disrupt the peace process in Darfur, and cause mayhem throughout the country. More»

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»

(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»