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Analysis: Meanwhile, Darfur Suffers On

Council on Foreign Relations

June 27, 2006
Prepared by: Michael Moran

Much disagreement surrounds events in Darfur—over the extent of the Sudanese government's complicity in the genocide there, the willingness of rebel groups to coexist (Allafrica.com), the competence of the African Union force sent to keep the peace (PBS), and the viability of a recent peace deal (PDF).

One thing, however, is crystal clear: Sudan does not want a UN force (CNN) comprised of professional, well-equipped, and capable military units on its territory. Yet a UN Security Council resolution passed in May calls for just that. Can Sudan bar the door? UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will try to convince Khartoum not to at this week's African Union summit (Reuters).

Since the conflict began in 2003, Khartoum has blown hot and cold on the subject of international involvement in the region, as this Backgrounder explains. For years, Sudan denied the conflict completely, even after the United States declared what was going on in Darfur to be "genocide" (CNN). Mounting evidence and growing international pressure ultimately forced Khartoum to admit to mobilizing "self-defense militias," as this BBC Q&A explains, and to allow in the 7,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.