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Author: Laura Heaton

Bashir Travels Abroad; U.N. Warns of Impending Crisis at Home

Bashir Travels Abroad; U.N. Warns of Impending Crisis at Home
In yet another act of defiance toward the international community’s call for his arrest, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir traveled to Cairo today for meetings with the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. It was the Sudanese president’s second trip abroad since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for crimes orchestrated in Darfur. On Monday, Bashir visited Eritrea, the country just east of Sudan. Neither country is a party to the ICC and is therefore not obligated to carry out its decisions. From the short notice of Bashir’s travel plans and his apparent interest in staying close to home, it seems ...

Darfur Camps Refuse Aid, Make a Statement

Darfur Camps Refuse Aid, Make a Statement
Last week President Bashir delivered a fiery speech in Darfur as part of a highly stage-managed effort meant to demonstrate that he remains popular in the war-torn region. “It's not the U.S. or Britain who chooses the president of Sudan but the Sudanese people,” railed Bashir. However, the displaced people living in two of Darfur’s largest camps offered their own powerful rebuttal to the president by refusing aid brought in at the behest of Khartoum. Leaders in the Kalma and Kass camps in south Darfur say that they’ll continue to refuse aid as long as Khartoum sticks by its decision ...

In Spite of Arrest Warrant, Bashir Takes a Trip

In Spite of Arrest Warrant, Bashir Takes a Trip
Today, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir traveled to Eritrea, the tiny country east of Sudan, in defiance of the International Criminal Court’s warrant for his arrest. Under the ICC Charter, member states are compelled to arrest a person wanted by the international court if he sets foot on their territory. However, Eritrea is not a party to the ICC and came out early in support of Bashir. The AP reported that local television showed Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki greeting Bashir at the airport in Asmara with a fanfare of dancers and drummers. Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu said Bashir was invited ...

Children in Conflict

Children in Conflict
Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier in Sierra Leone, and Francis Bok, a former slave in Sudan, shared the stage today to discuss children in conflict. They spoke at the Reconciliation Forum in Washington, a conference aimed at discussing the “forces that divide people and ignite conflict but also those that can forge reconciliation and its ultimate goal, lasting peace.” Despite their young age, the stories of Beah and Bak represent many years of hardship, as the men were caught up in the violence engulfing their countries starting at age 7 and 9 respectively. Each shared his story of “the ...

“The Day We Left Darfur”

"The Day We Left Darfur"
Reuters AlertNet ran this blog post yesterday, which provides a powerful narration of the expulsion of humanitarian aid organizations in Sudan from the viewpoint of an aid worker forced to leave. "As I flew out of Sudan, all I felt was guilt. I knew we had no choice—we were being forced to go—but I kept thinking of the people I had to leave behind: my Sudanese friends and colleagues; the children smiling and shouting "OK" every time they see a stranger; and most of all the people living in the camps, who have already suffered so much and are now ...

US Issues Urgent Plea from Khartoum

US Issues Urgent Plea from Khartoum
It’s clear that the humanitarian crisis in Darfur has reached a desperate point when the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum issues statements like the one it put out today: The United States is deeply concerned by the growing humanitarian crisis in Zam Zam IDP (Internally Displaced Person) Camp in North Darfur. The arrival of over 36,000 IDPs fleeing recent fighting in South Darfur between rebels and the government has severely strained camp resources. This ongoing crisis is exacerbated by the March 4 expulsion of 13 major international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and the dissolution of three Sudanese NGOs by the Sudanese Government ...

Breaking News: Obama Chooses Sudan Envoy

Breaking News: Obama Chooses Sudan Envoy
The AP and Reuters are reporting that President Obama has tapped retired Air Force General Scott Gration as the U.S. envoy to Sudan. According to reports, the president will likely make an official announcement tomorrow. A Newsweek profile of Gen. Gration from earlier this year looks at his close ties to the president, forged during a 15-day tour of Africa last August. The son of missionary parents, Gen. Gration grew up in the Congo and speaks fluent Swahili. The Enough Project has advocated for President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton to quickly finalize their pick. In partnership with the ...

Fallout After the Warrant: Week in Review

Fallout After the Warrant: Week in Review
The most positive news coming out of Sudan this week was that the Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, staff members kidnapped on Wednesday have been released. MSF confirmed the reports on Saturday night, identifying the staff members as Canadian nurse Laura Archer, Italian doctor Mauro D'Ascanio, French coordinator Raphaël Meunier and Sudanese watchman Sharif Mohamadin. Christopher Stokes, the director of MSF’s Belgian team, said, “This kidnapping represents a significant escalation in the insecurity faced by aid workers in Darfur,” a point that many speculate could be part of Khartoum’s strategy to increase suffering in Darfur, intimidate international aid organizations, and ...

Darfur Aid Workers Set Free

Darfur Aid Workers Set Free
The three international hostages abducted this week in Darfur have been released, according to reports by the BBC and the AP that cite a statement by the Italian foreign ministry. Five members of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) -Belgium staff were kidnapped from their office in Saraf Umra, North Darfur on Wednesday night. The two Sudanese staff members were released on Thursday, but the three foreign nationals remained in the abductors’ custody until today. MSF’s Belgium branch was not among the 13 aid agencies expelled late last week, but the kidnapping incited concern that increased violence against international aid agencies ...

Aid workers abducted in Darfur

Aid workers abducted in Darfur
Five humanitarian aid workers were kidnapped in Saraf Umra, North Darfur last night, inciting immediate questions about potential political motivations, the BBC reports. Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, confirmed on its website that the three international staff members — a Canadian nurse, an Italian doctor, and a French coordinator — remain in the custody of the abductors. The two Sudanese staff members were released. The French and Dutch sections of MSF were among the 13 aid groups expelled from Sudan following the ICC decision to issue an arrest warrant for President Bashir. However, the five aid ...