U.N.: Civilians Targeted as Violence Worsens in Southern Kordofan
The U.N. human rights office today reported that “extremely worrying” attacks on civilians and indiscriminant shelling are taking place in Southern Kordofan. Civilian deaths and injuries in the towns of Talodi and Um Durein have been confirmed while house-to-house searches near Kadugli, and attacks on both displaced people seeking refuge and civilians returning home for provisions have been reported. The U.N. also reported that “fighting forces” have erected roadblocks that are preventing medical and humanitarian access and called on all parties to the conflict to allow safe passage to civilians ...
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Fighting Rages in Southern Kordofan
Intense fighting and violence continue in the volatile border state of Southern Kordofan between the northern army, or SAF, and elements of the southern army, or SPLA. According to the latest account from AFP, U.N. sources observed Antonov bombers and fighter jets flying around the state capital of Kadugli, following the shelling of SPLA positions by the northern army since Tuesday. Witnesses on the ground described northern-affiliated forces taking aggressive measures against civilians and conducting house-to-house searches for SPLA troops, the article also said ...
Humanitarian Conditions Dire as Abyei Crisis Continues
'Bring food. There is none here.’ It was prudent advice, arriving by text message in a rare patch of cell phone network coverage, as the red mud-splattered vehicle barreled north toward the area where most of the estimated 96,000 people displaced by recent fighting in the disputed area of Abyei have temporary settled. The influx of displaced people fleeing the recent outbreak of violence in Abyei and destruction of nearby villages has placed a strain on basic goods in the small towns forming a semi-circle south of the conflict area. Many of the displaced are staying in host families and ...
Video: Looking for Family Among Abyei’s Displaced
Amid the chaos of fleeing Abyei as violence erupted late last month, family members often got separated from each other. In the town of Turalei, at least a two-days’ walk south, the Enough Project’s Tim Freccia met Kuol Monyjei, who was facing the frightening uncertainty of not being able to reach his wife, mother, and two-year-old son. Freccia accompanied Konyjei as he walked through Turalei trying to locate his family ...
South Sudan’s Gathering Storm
With General Radko Mladić now in the dock in The Hague to face charges stemming from the atrocities committed by troops under his command during the Bosnian War, the contrast with events in Southern Sudan could not be more appalling. Sudan’s government, led by President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, has taken a page from its Darfur playbook by waging war once again on civilians and their property, this time attacking the disputed border region of Abyei on the eve of South Sudan’s legal secession next month ...
Big School, Big Challenges, Big Impact
Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College, or HTC, recently became the first public college in the United States to take a stance on products containing conflict minerals from eastern Congo. Sophomore and STAND member Ellen Hamrick wrote this guest blog post about the hurdles she and her fellow student leaders encountered, and how they ultimately overcame them to make this powerful statement ...
Dave Eggers: “By Feeling and Acting Obligated to Our Fellow Humans, We Are Freed”
Award-winning author Dave Eggers, who wrote the novel What is the What based on the life and experiences of Sudanse Lost Boy Valentino Deng, describes his Enough Moment ...
‘When Stars Fall to Earth’ Novel Sheds Light on Human Toll of Darfur
For the thousands of activists around the world working to end genocide and crimes against humanity, their personal journey and commitment often began with what Enough Co-founder John Prendergast has called "the Enough Moment" - that instant in which a person can no longer be content to sit by while atrocities are taking place, even halfway around the world. For Rebecca Tinsley, the seeds of that moment were planted when she was a six-year old. Now, she has combined her passion for activism with her talents as a journalist to write the novel When the Stars Fall to Earth, a ...
Civilians Targeted By Southern Soldiers, Militias in South Sudan Fighting
JUBA, South Sudan -- As I walked into Bentiu’s state hospital last week, I expected it to be overcrowded with wounded civilians who had fled the most recent onslaught between the SPLA and Peter Gadet’s forces in Mankien. But I could not find one such person. Instead it was bustling with soldiers getting their battle-scars dressed. “No person without an SPLA uniform is allowed to escape Mayom,” said one man, referring to a western county in Sudan’s Unity state where militia fighting has been rampant. “There are no civilians in Mayom, only rebels.” ...
