In 2004 the UN declared the World's worst Humanitarian Crisis; in which country was this?
This country has 2 million refugees, roughly one third of its population. In the wars with the rebels upwards of 350,000 people have died, 6% of the population. There have been widespread allegations of genocide and war crimes. One hint its in Africa.
If you haven't guessed i am talking about Sudan and the Darfur conflict.
If you do not know why this conflict is happening, or what has happened, don't worry you are like most Americans. Since the beginning of the conflict in 2003 there has been little media coverage due to the continuing war on terrorism and Iraq where 2,000 precious American lives have been lost. For those that do not know, the conflict started when rebels started attacking government targets to draw attention to the needs of the Darfur region. This worked. Government backed militias and rebels have fought, massacring whole villages, and "cleansing" many black communities. The conflict becomes very complex when one finds that the conflict is not only between the government and the rebels, but also between the nomadic Arabs and the African farming tribes. There have also been allegations that the main perpetrator of the war crimes and "cleansing", the Janjaweed militia, are government backed.
In recent months there have been many interesting developments, mainly allegations of sexual assault and rape against the 7,000 African Union troops stationed to protect the 2 million refugees. The African Union is a group of African countries committed to "African solutions for African problems." An interesting dichotomy has developed between the AU and the Sudanese government. The more the AU commanders say that they cannot effect any change or protect the millions of refugees the more the government states the AU force is doing a good job.
These statements in favor of the AU have also come at a time when the UN has decided that it may be time for them to take over the peacekeeping mission. The recent blockade of a top UN humanitarian official from entering both Sudan and Chad- where not only 200,000 refugees have fled to, but where rebels have started basing raids out of- has led many to believe that the Sudanese government is trying to hide their deteriorating state of their control, and the widespread misappropriation of aid. UN humanitarian officials on the ground have complained about a breakdown in order, and the security of the bases which dispense aid.
While the government supports the AU peacekeeping force the rebels have called for the UN to intervene. This has been met by the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's statement that Sudan will become "a graveyard for foreign intervention" if the UN takes control. This interesting line of events makes one think that the UN must quickly intervene or else things will become much worse.
The commanders of the AU force have stated that they believe they are useless in this situation. It is time for the UN and western nations to take a stand and help Africa. The west has no real vested interest in Sudan, and therefore no reason to help, except the cause of humanity, which seems these days to be worth risking few lives for, unlike terrorism and protecting our own asses. If this is allowed to go any further it is no ones fault but our own, we must stop it or face the consequence; the consequence of conscience, if we still have one.
All Information from BBCNews.com, Written by William H. Gammell
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