Sudan: Arabs Fighting Over Their Loot

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February26, 2007: Apparently the Arab tribes of Darfur as so sure that the African tribes are smashed, that they are now fighting among themselves. Arab raiders have been attacking villages belonging to rival tribes, both to obtain loot, and to obtain a greater share of the land recently stolen from the African tribes (many of whose members are now in refugee camps, being fed by the UN).

February 25, 2007: President Omar al Bashir said that Sudan would never "compromise" its sovereignty. He also accused the US and the West of slandering Sudan. Bashir insisted that Arabs were not killing Africans in Darfur, and Westerners who say that, were lying. Bashir was responding to attacks via an address to the American Moslem group, The Nation of Islam, ( a "Black Muslim" organization head by Louis Farrakhan.) Addressing the Nation of Islam is an interesting political gambit by Sudan. The Sudan government has earned the ire of many liberal and left-wing organizations because of its attacks on black African farmers and villagers in western Sudan (Darfur).

February 24, 2007: He says Chad but the focus is on Sudan. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon suggested that the UN consider sending 11,000 U.N. peacekeeping troops to eastern Chad (ie, the Chad border region with Sudan). Ban said that the force would help protect civilians in the area. Yes, it would do that, and possibly deter attacks by both Chadian rebels and Sudanese rebels as well. But it would also put a UN force close to Darfur �" ready to move into the area should a UN-sponsored force for Darfur be approved by the Security Council. It would also be a short distance away from African Union (AU) peacekeepers currently in Darfur. A Chad-based UN force could conceivably be called on to provide support for hard-pressed AU troops. The Sudan government would object, but the force would already be in place.

 

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