Rwanda II: UN Frets Over Darfur Death and Chaos
Jim Kouri, CPP
November 23, 2005
Some are calling it Rwanda II as the Sudan's Darfur province continues to spiral downward into complete lawlessness. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan offered a tepid call on the Sudanese government and rebels to resolve their conflict by the end of the year through peace talks rather than armed conflict.
Annan submitted a report to the UN Security Council detailing the violence, killing and rape that's increasing monthly in Darfur. Civilians must repeatedly evacuate their towns and villages in order to avoid the bloodshed and chaos in the region.
In a written report to the members of the Security Council, Annan offered a dismal view of Dafur's future. He wrote, "The looming threat of complete lawlessness and anarchy draws nearer, particularly in western Darfur, as warlords, bandits and militia groups grow more aggressive.
"It should be made clear to all parties that the [African Union] AU-facilitated peace talks in Abuja are the only vehicle for achieving a viable solution. Talks outside of this framework, where some of the parties are excluded, will never lead to any sustainable agreements."
Many of the victims of the terror in the Dafur are non-Arabs who accuse the Sudanese government of neglect and repression. Thousands of them have been killed and thousands more are being starved when their villages are commandeered by Islamic warlords or militias. The scene is described as utter anarchy, with the Sudanese police or military doing very little if anything to put down the insurrection.
The Sudanese government is suspected of arming Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, who killed, raped, burned down villages and forced millions out of their homes. Officials in Khartoum, the Sudan's capital, repeatedly denied providing assistance to the Muslim-Arab militia. The non-Arabs citizens of the Sudan are mostly Christians. Even journalists covering the anarchy and death that exists in Dafur avoid portraying the violence as radical Islamists killing Christians.
The African Union sent troops to provide peacekeeping duties including prevention of routine killings and raids on villages. However, their efforts have met with failure and five AU peacekeepers were gunned down in last month by rebels.
This past summer, Kofi Annan submitted a rosy report to the Security Council that said civilian casualties and deaths were lower, but his new report said this wasn't what he hoped would occur. Violence continues to be a way of life.
There's also an increase in the recruitment of children to fight in the militias many of whom are killed or wounded regularly. Vicious rapes of women and girls is becoming more prevalent in Dafur, as well.
UN monitors were told of gang rapes outside of a refugee camps on members of an Arab militia who are suspected of being Janjaweed.
Annan offered no UN solutions or proposals to deal with what appears to be a repeat of the horrors that occurred in Rwanda. In that country tens of thousands were butchered and executed. Sadly, the United Nations and United States did practically nothing to save the victims of what was obviously genocide. When then President Bill Clinton considered sending US troops into Rwanda to stop the genocidal violence, General Wesley Clark reportedly convinced him to stand down.
After recent proposals to pass a UN resolution in the strongest terms possible, the Security Council refused to label what is happening in Dafur as genocide.
Annan submitted a report to the UN Security Council detailing the violence, killing and rape that's increasing monthly in Darfur. Civilians must repeatedly evacuate their towns and villages in order to avoid the bloodshed and chaos in the region.
In a written report to the members of the Security Council, Annan offered a dismal view of Dafur's future. He wrote, "The looming threat of complete lawlessness and anarchy draws nearer, particularly in western Darfur, as warlords, bandits and militia groups grow more aggressive.
"It should be made clear to all parties that the [African Union] AU-facilitated peace talks in Abuja are the only vehicle for achieving a viable solution. Talks outside of this framework, where some of the parties are excluded, will never lead to any sustainable agreements."
Many of the victims of the terror in the Dafur are non-Arabs who accuse the Sudanese government of neglect and repression. Thousands of them have been killed and thousands more are being starved when their villages are commandeered by Islamic warlords or militias. The scene is described as utter anarchy, with the Sudanese police or military doing very little if anything to put down the insurrection.
The Sudanese government is suspected of arming Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, who killed, raped, burned down villages and forced millions out of their homes. Officials in Khartoum, the Sudan's capital, repeatedly denied providing assistance to the Muslim-Arab militia. The non-Arabs citizens of the Sudan are mostly Christians. Even journalists covering the anarchy and death that exists in Dafur avoid portraying the violence as radical Islamists killing Christians.
The African Union sent troops to provide peacekeeping duties including prevention of routine killings and raids on villages. However, their efforts have met with failure and five AU peacekeepers were gunned down in last month by rebels.
This past summer, Kofi Annan submitted a rosy report to the Security Council that said civilian casualties and deaths were lower, but his new report said this wasn't what he hoped would occur. Violence continues to be a way of life.
There's also an increase in the recruitment of children to fight in the militias many of whom are killed or wounded regularly. Vicious rapes of women and girls is becoming more prevalent in Dafur, as well.
UN monitors were told of gang rapes outside of a refugee camps on members of an Arab militia who are suspected of being Janjaweed.
Annan offered no UN solutions or proposals to deal with what appears to be a repeat of the horrors that occurred in Rwanda. In that country tens of thousands were butchered and executed. Sadly, the United Nations and United States did practically nothing to save the victims of what was obviously genocide. When then President Bill Clinton considered sending US troops into Rwanda to stop the genocidal violence, General Wesley Clark reportedly convinced him to stand down.
After recent proposals to pass a UN resolution in the strongest terms possible, the Security Council refused to label what is happening in Dafur as genocide.
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