April 5, 2007:
The UN Mission In Sudan (UNMIS) will
contribute "more support" to the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in
Darfur. This consists of additional
observers, logistics specialists, and police to the AU force.
April 2 2007: Five African Union (AU) peacekeepers
were killed in the Darfur region, by "unidentified assailants." The AU called
the attack "a crime" which it attributed to "armed groups." Armed groups in
Darfur can mean anything, ie, rebel groups, government sponsored militias, even
bandit gangs. In this case, it appears that the attackers were members of a
rebel group, that had turned to banditry. This is common. Attacks on AU
peacekeepers have increased in recent weeks, including gunfire aimed at a
helicopter, carrying several senior AU officers, on April 1. No one was injured in that incident.
The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the
government have reached a new understanding. Last month eight SLM members and
two government policemen died in a shoot out in Omdurman. Approximately
three-dozen SLM members were arrested in the incident, which involved a police
raid on an SLM headquarters. The SLM said that the incident was so serious it
was considering withdrawing from the May 5 peace agreement. Now the SLM is
saying it believes that the incident was sparked by Sudanese policemen who want
the peace deal to collapse. There is no indication that this is true but it is
an interesting claim. Sudan has supposedly agreed to release the SLM members it
arrested. It has returned control of the headquarters building to the SLM.
Sudan and China have agreed to new "bilateral
military exchanges." The agreement was reached by the Sudan government and the
Chinese Defense Ministry. Military exchanges usually means training assistance.
March 31, 2007: At least 23 people were wounded in tribal fighting in
Dafur, near the town of Diyala.
