A decade after the world stood on the sidelines as almost 1 million people died in a 100-day genocide in Rwanda, more carnage of colossal proportions is taking place in nearby Sudan, Africa's largest nation. "No matter what we call it — genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity — people are dying on a massive scale," says U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia, who made a three-day fact-finding visit to Sudan in June [2004]. "What matters most now is action." (read more…)
Humanitarian situation in Darfur deteriorating,
senior UN official says
31 August 2007 – A United Nations official today warned that the humanitarian situation is worsening in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region, with more people being displaced, increased security risks to aid workers and potentially rising malnutrition rates.
“We believe it’s important to keep reminding ourselves that a credible ceasefire and controlling the lawlessness in Darfur are really the two bottom lines that need to be sustained and this is, of course, the intent of the international community,” UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Margareta Wahlström told reporters at the world body’s Headquarters in New York.
In the period from June until 21 August, 55,000 people have been newly displaced, which bring the total of those fleeing their homes since January to a quarter million. Out of a total population in Darfur of 6.4 million, 2.2 million are displaced while four million are dependent on humanitarian assistance, she noted.
“Also, the trend for aid workers is not positive,” she said, with a 150 per cent surge in incidents – including car hijackings, attacks on convoys and other acts of violence – against humanitarian staff. She also reminded reporters that attacks on relief providers are having an impact on Darfurians as well. UN News Center
