8 October: The only Darfur rebel faction to sign a May 2006 peace deal with Khartoum says it is under attack from government forces and allied Janjaweed militia. Khalid Abakar, of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) faction, said the town of Muhajiriya, which they control, was half-burned. He said it is a continuation of a Sudanese army offensive on Haskanita. — BBC
8 October: the UN mediated peacekeeping talks to be held at the end of October in Libya are at risk of being cancelled. It seems none of the ten separate rebel group leaders running amok in Darfur can stand to be in the same room with each other long enough to talk about peace. — Reuters
7 October: The Darfur town of Haskanita is razed by the Sudanese Military in retaliation for a rebel attack on a nearby base of African Union (AU) peacekeepers. U.N. officials who inspected the town said that about 100 civilians had been killed and 15,000 had fled the area. — Voice of America
1 October: Ten aforementioned AU peacekeepers are shot in a surprise attack by Darfuri rebels. — PBS
1 October: The Government of Sudan releases two government officials against whom the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in April for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity including several counts of murder, rape and torture. According to a statement issued by Mr Lam Akol, the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Ali Kushayb was released due to “lack of evidence” against him. The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute has condemned the action. — All Africa
27 September: A suicide bomber in military fatigues kills five young people aged eight to 20 at a church meeting in Sudan’s Upper Nile State. The man detonated a grenade on his belt after approaching a group of 34 young people holding an outdoor church meeting in Khorfulus, 40 kilometres southwest of Malakal. — BosNewsLife
17 September: Sudanese refugees attempting to escape to Israel through Egypt are killed on the border by Egyptian soldiers. — Jerusalem Post
3 July – 12 August: Flash floods devastate many parts of Sudan, including some areas in conflict-battered Darfur and war-torn Southern Sudan. By the beginning of August, the emergency left at least 750,000 homeless, 64 dead and 335 injured. At least 257 schools destroyed, leaving over 56,000 children without primary education. Outbreaks of AWD (acute watery diahorrea) have killed 39 people in four weeks, with 637 cases reported. — Relief web
30 May: US impose fresh set of sanctions on the Sudan, which many believe will do further harm to the civilians trapped in the centre of the carnage. — ABC News
Meanwhile in London
8 October: The highest court in Britain is deciding whether it is safe to return Darfuri asylum seekers to Sudan. The British government brought the case to the Law Lords because it wants to overturn an earlier decision by the Court of Appeal, after it ruled that deporting Darfuri asylum-seekers would be unduly harsh. Abdo Yahya Abdullah says returning to Sudan would be a death sentence. “If I go back, 99 percent rebels will kill me. One hundred percent government can kill me.” — Voice of America
8 October: In the wake of plans by the House of Lords to overturn a non-ruturn policy of refugees to Sudan, Abdo Yahya Abdullah tells British news source VOA why he can’t go home. Three years ago rebels attacked his village killing most of his family and his wife, who was seven-months pregnant. “My brother and my wife, they die. My father and my sister are disappeared,” he said. Only Abdullah’s mother, his younger brother and his three-year-old son survived, but when the village came under attack again, he lost them as they fled. “I don’t know if they die or if they survive but one day I will go back to search — where is my mother, where is my son, where is my brother?” — Voice of America
Crikey is committed to hosting lively discussions. Help us keep the conversation useful, interesting and welcoming. We aim to publish comments quickly in the interest of promoting robust conversation, but we’re a small team and we deploy filters to protect against legal risk. Occasionally your comment may be held up while we review, but we’re working as fast as we can to keep the conversation rolling.
The Crikey comment section is members-only content. Please subscribe to leave a comment.
The Crikey comment section is members-only content. Please login to leave a comment.