tagged w/ Darfur
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A deadly standoff last month between Sudan troops and residents of one camp is raising fears that the front lines of the rebellion have shifted.A deadly standoff last month between Sudan troops and residents of one camp is raising... more
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My old friend from high school, Justin Zorn is present in today’s Washington Post with some wonderful news.My old friend from high school, Justin Zorn is present in today’s Washington... more
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The candidates' foreign policies are being closely watched around the world [EPA]
Al Jazeera looks at the foreign policy positions of the two main US presidential candidates, Barack Obama of the Democratic party and John McCain, his Republican rival, including the war in Iraq, the Middle East conflict and the ongoing nuclear stand-off with Iran.
This article concisely sums up the candidates approaches to dealing with: Iraq, Iran, Israel/Palestine, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Cuba, Columbia, China, North Korea, Russia, and Darfur.The candidates' foreign policies are being closely watched around the world [EPA]... more
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Sudanese armed forces have attacked the only Darfur rebel group to have signed a peace deal with the government, the group's leader has said.
Minni Arcua Minnawi, a leader of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), said four of his troops were killed and 16 wounded after coming under attack at their base in Kolge in the east Jebel Marra region on Sunday.
"They attacked us with Antonov aircraft, helicopters and tanks," he said.
Minnawi became a presidential advisor after his group signed a peace agreement in 2006 with Khartoum - the Sudanese capital and the seat of president Omar al-Bashir's administration.
He accused the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of attempting to kill off the peace process.
"We want to respect the peace process, but we are fighting in self-defence," he said.
"If the peace agreement is over, it is over from one side – the NCP side," Minnawi said.
'New offensive'
He said he was considering closing his office in Sudan's presidential palace in protest at the action.
Mohammed Bashir Abdullah, the head of Minnawi's office, said it was the first time the army had launched a direct attack on his men.
The SLA said the new offensive started a week ago and had continued daily.
Areas controlled by SLA fighters have been attacked by government troops in the past, but Khartoum has denied carrying out any military action.
Leaders from three other rebel groups confirmed the attacks near Tabit, at least 50km southwest of el Fasher, north Darfur's capital, and said that other clashes with government forces had occurred across the region.
'Residents fleeing attacks'
Sherif Harir, an SLA member, said: "Bombing has been continuing up till now," adding that air attacks had forced residents to flee 200 villages in the remote area.
Peacekeepers confirmed there had been fighting between government and rebel forces in which aircraft were involved.
"The reports that we have indicate there has been heavy fighting," Kemal Saiki, a spokesman for the joint UN-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID), told the AFP news agency.
"We do not have exact details. But with reports of more than 100 vehicles with troops, this is not just a skirmish."
Richard Williamson, the US' special envoy to Sudan, said the new fighting was unacceptable at a time when efforts were being made to bring a ceasefire to the country's troubled western region.
'Grave concern'
"The government should honour the ceasefire. This descent into violence causes grave concern about the humanitarian situation," he said.
The UN has said up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have fled their homes since the conflict erupted in February 2003.
Sudan says 10,000 people have been killed.
The war began when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-led Khartoum regime and state-backed Arab militias, fighting for resources and power.
The conflict has since deteriorated with the emergence of a multiplying array of rebel groups, breakaway militia groups and bandits.
Sudanese armed forces have attacked the only Darfur rebel group to have signed a peace... more
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On September 9, 2004, the Bush administration recognized that the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan constitutes genocide. Remembering these words, Africa Action today urged President Bush to make security and accountability in Darfur priorities for the remainder of his presidency, and the next U.S. president to pursue a comprehensive, long-term commitment to peace and justice for Darfur and all Sudan.
Since January, the United Nations (UN) estimates that 210,000 people have been displaced in Darfur and to eastern Chad. Flooding from the rainy season has exacerbated this humanitarian crisis, but the biggest threats to the people of Darfur are man-made. Lawlessness abounds, and the UN-African Union (AU) Darfur peacekeeping force known as UNAMID has been unable to protect innocent communities or humanitarian workers from violence by militias, rebels, bandits and government troops. Over 30 civilians were killed by government forces in a late August attack on the Kalma internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in South Darfur.
"Four years after condemning the conflict in Darfur as the world's gravest crime, President Bush has left the people of Sudan a legacy of tragically unfulfilled promises," said Gerald LeMelle, Executive Director of Africa Action. "He should make the best of the remainder of his term by doing three things. First, the U.S. should work with international partners to achieve the rapid deployment of all 18 formed police units (FPUs) mandated for UNAMID to provide 24 hour protection for IDPs in Darfur. Second, President Bush should push to enforce the existing UN Security Council arms embargo for Darfur and expand this weapons ban to all Sudan. Finally, the U.S. should resist international efforts to suspend International Criminal Court (ICC) proceedings investigating Sudan's President Omer al-Bashir."
Only around 10,000 of the UNAMID's 26,000 uniformed personnel have been deployed, due to a combination of Sudanese obstruction and operational difficulty training, equipping and integrating different national forces. A recent report by a consortium of civil society groups working in and for Darfur further criticized those forces on the ground for not doing enough with their existing resources to protect civilians.
"The international community's painfully slow progress in effectively deploying UNAMID demonstrates how critical it is to have a coordinated, long-term approach to human security and democracy in Sudan," said Michael Swigert, Africa Action's Associate Director for Policy and Communications. "U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain have both promised 'unstinting resolve' to end genocide and promote peace for Darfur and all of Sudan. To demonstrate the depth of their commitment, they should discuss the issue at their foreign policy debate on September 26."
Over the coming months, Africa Action and partners will be mobilizing public pressure to hold the next U.S. president accountable to his commitment to peace and justice for Sudan. For more information on this grassroots action or how to end genocide in Darfur, visit www.africaaction.org.On September 9, 2004, the Bush administration recognized that the violence in the... more
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Sudanese government troops have moved in to control rebel strongholds in North Darfur state after two days of heavy fighting, fighters from the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) have said.
The fighters said on Monday that assaults on rebels' positions began on Saturday.
Government and militia forces battled the rebels, backed by attack helicopters and Antonov planes around the North Darfur towns of Disa, Birmaza and Tawila.
"The government are in Disa and Birmaza now," said Ibrahim al-Hillo, a commander from the SLA faction headed by Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur, an exiled leader.
"There is isolated shooting, but the Antonov planes are overhead many times in the day and they have been bombing," he added, declining to say how many casualties there might be.
Civilians hiding
Fighters from the SLA remained close to the towns but government forces now controlled them, with civilians fleeing into the surrounding desert, he said.
His account could not be independently verified with other sources.
"The civilians have run away into the desert or are hiding in the trees," he added, speaking from close to Disa.
"The situation is very bad. It's raining and the people are suffering very much."
Fighting around Tawila - where rebels reported heavy clashes on Saturday and Sunday - has also ceased, according to field commanders, said Al-Hillo.
Government forces were now encamped there, he said.
There was no response from the military. But in comments made to Sudanese media on Monday, an army spokesman said troops were in control of areas in eastern Jebel Marra, south of Tawila in West Darfur state.
No mention was made of fighting elsewhere.
'General attacks'
The joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur, or Unamid, said reports from North Darfur state indicated the government had launched "general attacks".
Around 120 Land Rovers and trucks carrying "heavily armed" government troops were spotted near Malha, around 180km northeast of the reported fighting at Disa and Birmaza, the force said on Sunday.
Two attack helicopters had landed at Kutum, some 70km south of the two towns, Unamid said in a statement.
The Arab League ministerial council, meanwhile, is to form an Arab ministerial committee to arrange peace talks in Qatar between the Sudanese government and armed groups in Darfur.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, will head the committee.
Others on the committee will include Amr Musa, the Arab League secretary general, and Jean Ping, the chairperson of the African Union commission, to head the committee.
The UN says up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million fled their homes since the conflict erupted in February 2003. Sudan says 10,000 have been killed.
The war began when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-led Khartoum regime and state-backed Arab militias, fighting for resources and power.
The conflict has since deteriorated with the emergence of a multiplying array of rebel groups, breakaway militia groups and bandits.
Sudanese government troops have moved in to control rebel strongholds in North Darfur... more
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If you happen to be in LA around September 4th, you won't want to miss the the first of a concert series that combines social change with great musicians.If you happen to be in LA around September 4th, you won't want to miss the the... more
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Two hijackers who took control of a plane flying from the Darfur region of Sudan have today surrendered to authorities, Libya state media has reported.
The plane had been forced to land in the desert town of Kufra, where the two men surrendered, and were held in the airport there.Two hijackers who took control of a plane flying from the Darfur region of Sudan have... more
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rwylie
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Join The Roots of Humanity on the 27th of every month in asking the unified, persistent question that has the answers collectively needed, within it.
We ask on behalf of our human siblings lacking in access to the most basic of communication tools, or barred from communication by their governments:
Am I Not Human?
Download this month's ebook: 'Where Do We Go From Here'
Join The Roots of Humanity on the 27th of every month in asking the unified,... more
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Recent refugees from the Darfur conflict have settled outside the town of Birao, Central African Republic, rather than inside a camp. Even though, they would want more food aid, their life seems to be more normal.Recent refugees from the Darfur conflict have settled outside the town of Birao,... more
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usnico
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3 years ago
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Sudanese forces attacked a Darfur refugee camp on Monday, leaving up to 27 dead and scores wounded, rebel leaders said.
The United Nations said it was "gravely concerned" at reports Sudanese security vehicles had surrounded South Darfur's volatile Kalma camp and that attacks had resulted in "injuries and deaths of civilians".
A spokesman for Sudan's army said officers had entered the camp to search for weapons, but insisted armed camp residents had fired on them first.
Kalma camp, long a centre of unrest, is home to 90,000 people who have fled their villages in five years of fighting in western Sudan between rebels, the government and militias.
The government has accused armed rebel supporters of taking refuge in Kalma while residents have accused government-backed militias of mounting a string of raids on the settlement.
Leaders of two Darfur rebel factions told Reuters government forces in around 100 vehicles surrounded Kalma at 5 a.m. (0200 GMT). A U.N. source said there were reports shooting had started inside the camp three hours later.
"I am inside the camp Kalma. Now there is still shooting," Abakr Suleiman, a senior tribal leader inside the settlement, said at 10 a.m. "There is heavy shooting. They came into the camp and killed people. There are houses burning."
Ahmed Abdel Shafie, leader of a Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) faction, said there were 27 confirmed deaths in what he said was an attack by Sudan's army.
"The IDPs (internally displaced people) are resisting, we are expecting casualties," Shafie added. "They (the government of Sudan) want to demolish Kalma camp, they want to force people to leave."
Aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres said at least 65 people -- more than half of them women and children -- were treated at its Kalma clinic after being injured in the shooting.
DEFIANCE
A U.N. source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there had been a "full armed confrontation" between the Sudanese armed forces and camp residents.
The source said early, unconfirmed reports suggested 32 people had been killed and 105 injured in the fighting.
Noureddine Mezni, spokesman for the joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeepers in Darfur, said Sudanese police had shown peacekeepers a search warrant authorising them to enter Kalma camp to search for weapons and "possible wanted persons".
Yahia El Bashir, the British-based spokesman for another SLA faction, said the attack was "a message of defiance to the international community. We call on the UNAMID peacekeepers to do their job and defend the IDPs."
Mezni said UNAMID officers were on their way to the camp to prepare a full report.
The United Nations' most senior humanitarian official in Sudan, Ameerah Haq, called for restraint, adding "such actions severely threaten the safety and security of civilians who have a right to protection under International Humanitarian Law".
A spokesman for Sudan's armed forces, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an army search party was fired on from inside the camp. "They (the search party) tried to resist and there was an exchange of fire between the two sides," he added. "We are still waiting for details of casualties from all sides."
International experts say more than 2.5 million Darfuris have been driven from their homes by five years of violence that has killed 200,000 people. Sudan puts the death count at 10,000.
The new joint U.N.-African Union mediator for Darfur, Djibril Bassole, is due to arrive in Khartoum on Monday to take up his position. (Additional reporting by Opheera McDoom; Editing by Giles Elgood)Sudanese forces attacked a Darfur refugee camp on Monday, leaving up to 27 dead and... more
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Sudanese troops have opened fire inside a Darfur refugee camp, leaving 27 people dead, a rebel group has said.
Some 100 government trucks surrounded the Kalma camp, home to some 90,000 people who have fled their homes in Darfur, a rebel spokesman told the BBC.
There is no independent confirmation of the reports but international sources have been told that Sudan wants to disarm the camp's residents.
More than two million people have fled five years of conflict in Darfur.
Ahmed Abdel Shafie, who heads a faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army, told the BBC that the government wants to force people to leave the camp.
Another rebel leader puts the number of those killed higher. Abdel Wahed Mohamed al-Nur, said that 50 people had been killed.
"This really is a catastrophe. People are being killed while the world just watches," he said.
(continued at link)Sudanese troops have opened fire inside a Darfur refugee camp, leaving 27 people dead,... more
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The pyrotechnics and fake pomp and circumstance of the Beijing Olympics will bring the competition to an end, but the genocide in Darfur that so many seem to have put out of their consciousness goes on.
"The Beijing Olympics have left the world's human rights groups frustrated and angry - convinced that China has been let off the hook for serious abuses, and adamant that future hosts like Russia must be held to a higher standard.
Western activists also are disappointed that among the thousands of athletes at the games, few have made even low-key efforts to speak out about political repression or China's economic ties to Sudan, where violence has raged in Darfur.
"Even if there was an athlete that wanted to speak out on issues of human rights, he might be silenced by whatever IOC official is mediating that press event," Darfur activist and former U.S. Olympian Joey Cheek said in an e-mail Wednesday to The Associated Press.
Cheek, co-founder of a group of athletes known as Team Darfur, had his visa revoked by Chinese authorities hours before he was to embark for Beijing. Team Darfur athletes who are in Beijing have acceded to International Olympic Committee curbs on political comment, resulting in what Cheek called "massive suppression of any voice that the government doesn't want heard."
Prominent human-rights groups have castigated the IOC and the games' major corporate sponsors for their reluctance to place any public pressure on China on such issues as political dissent and press freedom.
"The Chinese government's own voluntary pledges to improve human rights, allow public protests and guarantee 'complete freedom to report' made meeting these self-set human rights benchmarks one of the tests for a successful Olympics," Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch said in an e-mail from New York. "That is a test that both Beijing and the IOC have failed."
She said the Beijing games, rather than bequeathing a positive legacy, "may leave in place permanent technological surveillance and monitoring networks that make doing human rights work even more dangerous and difficult for Chinese citizens."
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are calling on the IOC to establish a more rigorous process for assessing the human-rights records of countries which bid for and host future Olympics."
The IOC has met with Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, but IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies indicated their proposals would likely be rebuffed.
"We're a sports organization. ... we stay clearly within our role, which is to bring sport to host countries," she said Wednesday. "We're not an organization that is best placed or has the capacity to deal with human rights issues"."
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With all due respect to Giselle Davies regarding this remark:
"We're a sports organization. ... we stay clearly within our role, which is to bring sport to host countries," she said Wednesday. "We're not an organization that is best placed or has the capacity to deal with human rights issues."
It is OBVIOUS you are not in an organization that has the capacity to deal with nor to care about human rights. And that is damned sad as I always thought the true spirit of sports was brotherhood. It is obvious however, it is now nothing more than a money making machine for selfish people who only care about winning at any cost. Shame on her for that remark.
*To whoever is going into this post and changing it. Please stop it. Thank you.The pyrotechnics and fake pomp and circumstance of the Beijing Olympics will bring the... more
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Congolese humanitarian worker gives food, but also seeds in Central African Republic, in an effort to help others in a war ravaged triangle between CAR, Darfur and Chad.
Again advanced upload is not working these days, so I have put up version with less quality image.Congolese humanitarian worker gives food, but also seeds in Central African Republic,... more
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usnico
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The ICRC continued helping people in remote areas to sow their fields and vaccinate their livestock ahead of heavy rains. Its teams provided vital relief to displaced people in Darfur, buried the dead in Abyei and re-established contact between families in Sudan and their relatives in Guantanamo. At the same time, the ICRC continued to remind all those involved in the conflict of their obligations to respect civilian lives and property. It accepted a request from the Sudanese government for assistance with the release and transfer of 99 minors arrested in connection with an attack on Omdurman last May, enabling them to rejoin their families in Darfur.
Distributing seed and tools in Darfur
Two months ago, the ICRC launched a massive seed distribution operation for families in rural Darfur. The operation was aiming to help 40,000 families (200,000 people) living in remote farming areas, especially in and around Jabal Marra. “The situation in Darfur has made it difficult for these families to get the basic goods and services they need," said ICRC agronomist Bruno Declercq in Sudan. ”The seed will boost their production capacity and improve their economic position.”
Each household received seed for staple foods and cash crops, together with basic tools and a "seed-protection ration" – a supply of food that would prevent families being forced to eat the seed rather than sow it.
When the time came to take stock of the operation, the ICRC found it had assisted more people than expected. Over 500 trucks and hundreds of workers had distributed nearly 3,300 tonnes of seed, food and agricultural implements to 45,000 families in remote areas of North and South Darfur States; 5,000 families (25,000 people) more than the target.
Livestock vaccination campaign
Darfur is home to an estimated 20 million head of livestock, making grazing animals the main form of livelihood and source of income for nomads in the region. Conflict, insecurity, geography and constant nomadic movement have made it increasingly difficult for these people to obtain animal health services. The ICRC is therefore vaccinating their livestock in areas where such services are not available.
To protect animals against five major fatal diseases, two ICRC teams completed a major livestock vaccination campaign in remote areas around Kabkabiyya in northern Darfur, working with the Ministry of Animal Health. The teams vaccinated nearly 130,000 cattle, camels, sheep and goats.
By the end of the operation in mid-July, ICRC teams had vaccinated a total of 500,000 animals in designated nomadic areas in North and South Darfur during 2008. "Red Cross medicine is very good for our animals," said a camel owner near Nyala, South Darfur. "We used to lose 15 to 20 per cent of our animals to disease. This has now dropped to about 5 per cent."
Vaccinations are to resume at the end of the rainy season in October. It is virtually impossible to conduct vaccination campaigns during the rains, as the flocks are moved to greener pastures and it is difficult to access remote areas.
Conducting burials in Abyei
Last May, fighting in the disputed central Sudanese town of Abyei left a number of unburied corpses behind. A team of 14 ICRC and Sudanese Red Crescent staff trained in disaster management was deployed to the town. They located the bodies and attempted to identify them before burying the remains of 59 people with dignity at a known, accessible location.
"Identifying the dead was impossible," said Giorgio Negro, the ICRC team leader. "After being left in the open for nearly a month, the bodies were decomposed beyond recognition. We buried them at a known location, so people could visit."*continues*The ICRC continued helping people in remote areas to sow their fields and vaccinate... more
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Sudan has sentenced eight Darfur fighters, including a senior member of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), to death for their involvement in an attack on Khartoum, Sudan's capital.
The court ruling on Sunday brings to 38 the number of people condemned to hang over the unprecedented attack in which more than 222 people were killed.
Among those sentenced was Abdel Aziz el-Nur Ashr, the half-brother of Khalil Ibrahim, the JEM leader.
"The court is sentencing all eight accused to death by hanging," said Mudathir Rashid Sidahmed, the presiding judge.
The accused and relatives - who were barred from attending the hearing - broke into shouts of death to the government after the sentences were read, a reporter for the AFP news agency said.
Darfuri women at the court protested outside the courtroom but were escorted away by police.
The accused have one week to appeal before Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan's president, signs the execution order.
The UN has voiced concern that the courts do not meet international standards and urged the appeals court to review the sentences.
The attack on Khartoum in May was the first time an armed group had brought their fight to the capital.
The fighters were stopped at bridges over the Nile, a few kilometres from the presidential palace and army headquarters.Sudan has sentenced eight Darfur fighters, including a senior member of the Justice... more
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All week, Dream for Darfur has been organizing the Darfur Olympics, a parallel Olympics designed to call attention to the genocide in Sudan and to pressure China into ending its support for Omar al-Bashir's regime in Khartoum.
While the Olympic Games kicked off in Beijing - overshadowing China's role in providing money and weapons to the Sudanese government - activist and actress Mia Farrow traveled to Sudan and spent several days visiting Darfuri refugees, speaking to the victims, and discussing ways of bringing about justice to the families.
Since 2003, what's become one of the world's worst humanitarian crises has claimed over 200,000 lives and displaced more than 2.5 million people. To learn more about why pressuring China can help end the genocide in Darfur, read this post (http://hub.witness.org/en/node/8565) from Rikki Gunton.
To take action and get involved, visit www.darfurolympics.org.
Think for a moment about all the time, money and effort that has been spent to stage the Beijing Games. Now think about the time, money and effort that has been spent, over the same time period, to help the people of Darfur.
In our closing ceremony, we juxtapose images from Darfur - showing the anguish underwritten by China - with images from the promotional materials for the Olympics. The disparity could not be greater.
Now that China's complicity in the Darfur slaughter is known to all the world, we invite you to help us keep the pressure on China to bring security to Darfur. Please visit the organizations featured throughout the Darfur Olympics to find ways to take action. To stay involved with Dream for Darfur, sign up for our newsletter.All week, Dream for Darfur has been organizing the Darfur Olympics, a parallel... more
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Most Olympic corporate sponsors have been silent about China's financing of the Darfur genocide, even as they enhance Beijing's image by spending billions of dollars on the Olympics. Take action: change the channel when sponsors' commercials air during the Games. Join those who will watch Mia Farrow reporting from a Darfurian refugee camp during the Olympics.
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There are videos at this link for every day since the opening ceremony dealing with another aspect of this genocide in Darfur. We must not forget what is happening while the Chinese government hopes to use the Olympic Games to escape culpability for their supplying arms to Sudan that is contributing to the atrocities and rape of its people.
Thank you, Mia Farrow.
Most Olympic corporate sponsors have been silent about China's financing of the... more
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During the first week of the Beijing Olympics, the Darfur Olympics effort aims to bring attention to the Chinese government's continued relationship with the Sudanese government that supports and funds the Janjaweed militia in Darfur.During the first week of the Beijing Olympics, the Darfur Olympics effort aims to... more
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The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor will ask for an arrest warrant for Sudan President Bashir next week, diplomats say.
UNITED NATIONS - The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor will ask judges to issue an arrest warrant for the president of Sudan next week on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, diplomats and an official close to the case said Thursday.
The prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, issued a statement Thursday announcing that he would submit evidence of crimes committed against civilians in Sudan's western region of Darfur over the last five years, though he will wait until Monday at the pretrial chamber to name names.
If the judges issue an arrest warrant, Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir would be the first sitting or former head of state to be charged with genocide by the 6-year-old international court in The Hague.
The prosecutor may seek the arrests of other senior Sudanese officials later, said the official close to the case, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the proceedingsThe International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor will ask for an arrest... more
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