French embassy in Chad issues warning to its citizens

The French embassy said a significant number of rebels planning to overthrow the government of President Idriss Deby were moving west - deeper into the country.

Officials said a "large column of rebels" had entered the province of Ouaddai.

The News - International Nov 25 2006.

Sudanese authorities hold journalist without charges

Sudanese journalist Al-Tahir Satti is held incommunicado since two days without charge, a newspaper said on Friday. Security services arrested the journalist without informing journalists union as provided for by law.

Despite the signing of the CAP and the adoption of the Interim constitution in January and July respectively, Sudanese journalists are still subjected to harassment and arrest by the different security services.

ST (Khartoum) 24 Nov 2006.

Sudan Partnership Weblog: Sudan Journey Completed

Nov 10 2006 blog entry by Adjumani of Sudan Partnership Weblog - Sudan Journey Completed - excerpt:

"... There was no accommodation for travelers in Torit as no one has yet started building traveler's lodges there. We were told no one is making bricks for building, yet. In Nimule and Magwi we could use Ugandan currency but in Torit and Juba only American dollars and Sudanese Dinar are accepted. Food for travelers is not abundant either. After 4 p.m. food was hard to find in the little shacks called hotelies. And these are only a few of the complexities of just traveling, let alone living in Eastern Equatoria.

We stayed one night in Magwi and saw some definite growth there as people are trickling back to their homeland. Magwi seems to be moving forward faster than the large town of Torit. It does seem a positive sign that it will be a good place to locate a residence and center for work. But the crying need of Magwi is for access roads to be built SOON. The existing primary road is becoming little more than rock and river bed.

Again we came away deeply challenged to pray and to return to help begin the rebuilding of this nation and her people. It was an incredible privilege to travel in Southern Sudan, to pray as the immensity of the task the Sudanese face was made so clear. We are impressed with people like Lam Michael who remain undaunted and work with compassionate, dedicated heart to continue the peace process and rebuilding of their land. Do please pray for Michael. He is fighting active Tuberculosis and has a long road ahead to full recovery. He actually came to meet and travel with us from Gulu, Uganda where he's getting treatment. It's that kind of commitment which speaks of one man's heart for his people."

Unwilling or Unable?: To Intervene or Not to Intervene in Darfur? (Peter Quaranto)

This post is for Drima. Not yet had a chance to read Nov 6 2006 blog entry by American blogger Peter Quaranto - Unwilling or Unable?: To Intervene or Not to Intervene in Darfur?

I've followed Peter's blogging over past few years as he maintains a number of sites mainly focusing on publicising the humanitarian crisis in Northern Uganda where ongoing atrocities and neglect of people in need are far worse than anything going on in Darfur. To see what I mean, scroll through a few years of headlines at Uganda Watch, a sister blog of Sudan Watch, and take a look at some of the photos - Congo Watch too.

Sudan working on International Islamic Bond

Sudan is looking at selling an international Islamic bond and is working with the Saudi Arabia-based Arab Investment Co. on the proposed issue, an official at firm's Bahrain branch said Thursday. Dow Jones 23 Nov 2006 via ST.

Sudanese people blogging for Darfur

Don't miss Drima's must-read About Darfur. Excerpt:

If you ask any person who's heard about the Darfur conflict what they know about it, they'll most probably tell you, "it's a genocide being waged by Arabs against Africans" and that "UN troops must go in to protect the innocent people". That's about all they know. Darfur is so much more complex than that and hardly anybody who's heard about it truly understands what's going on there.

And (smile) Sudanese Blogosphere in the Making!! Wohoooo!! [I've always wondered what took them so long. Better late than never. Wohoooo]

France sends more troops to CAR after rebel attacks

Nov 23 2006 Reuters report via WP. Excerpt:

"Given the situation in CAR (Central African Republic), the Boali detachment of roughly 200 men has been reinforced in the past days with the equivalent of one company, or around 100 men," French armed forces spokesman Christophe Prazuck said, referring to a contingent in the country.

He said the French troops, which were mainly based in the capital, Bangui, would support Central African Republic forces and a regional force sent by regional bloc CEMAC.

"Their main roles are providing logistical support for these forces, support in terms of intelligence and assistance in the planning and conduct of operations," Prazuck added.

France is providing similar assistance in Chad, where it has land and air forces stationed permanently.

Rape and torture among war crimes in Darfur, says international court

Nov 24 2006 Reuters report via Gulfnews. Excerpt:

The Hague: The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has nearly completed an investigation into war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region and has sufficient evidence to file charges soon, he said on Thursday.

"Based on a careful and thorough source evaluation of all the evidence collected, we were able to identify the gravest incidents and some of those who could be considered to be the most criminally responsible," Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a speech to the annual meeting of the court's member states.

"I plan to have collected this information by the beginning of December," Moreno-Ocampo said.

Sudan Closing off Darfur to Outside World

Excerpt from commentary by Katharine Houreld, Christian Science Monitor (hat tip Sudan Man)

Nov 17, 2006 (AL-FASHIR) - The African Union patrol was only seven miles from Sirba, the site of one of the latest Darfur massacres, when they were forced to turn back. Nearly 400 Arab militiamen in Sudanese government uniforms, with new Land Cruisers and weapons, blocked the dusty track.

Tuesday's incident was only the latest in a crackdown on access for international observers, journalists, and humanitarian organizations - a pattern that is becoming wearily familiar to those working in Darfur. "The timing is no coincidence," says Leslie Lefkow of Human Rights Watch. "[Sudan is] stemming the flow of information from Darfur while it continues to commit massive crimes and run a military campaign."

As outgoing UN chief Kofi Annan began a major push to stem the escalating crisis during high-level meetings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Thursday, the Sudanese government told top UN humanitarian official Jan Egeland that all his proposed destinations on a three-day trip to Darfur are too insecure to visit this weekend.

Last week, the Norwegian Refugee Council announced it was being forced out of Darfur after its permit to operate had been indefinitely suspended for the fifth time, making working conditions "impossible." Other foreign aid workers say they have been denied permission to reenter the country after leaving to attend a family emergency or to seek medical treatment.

Thirty villagers were reported killed this week in Sirba, but no outside investigators have been able to enter the town to confirm the reports. Sudanese rebels accused government troops and militias Thursday of killing more than 50 people in another attack. Two weeks ago, 63 people were reported killed in Jebel Moon, and their bodies buried in the desert.

In that case, investigators were able to access the massacre site, and found that more than 20 of the victims were children. Some of them had been shot through the head. Survivors described Arab men in uniforms, with Thuraya satellite phones, new vehicles, and animals, similar to the group seen only a few miles away barring the road to Sirba.

After the government signed a peace deal with one of the three rebel factions last May, the militias, known as the janjaweed, were supposed to be disarmed. Instead, the government appears to be using them as a proxy force to avoid accusations of cease-fire violations. But accurate reporting of militia movements, and alleged massacres, is becoming increasingly difficult.

Journalists able to secure a visa face a bewildering array of permits and paperwork; the Sudanese government must be informed in advance of any travel in Darfur. Officials insist on listening to interviews; they intimidate interviewees, and have attempted to confiscate notebooks.

"I can take any of [your permits] I want ... you're going to hell," one official hissed at this reporter. "Do you think this is a free country?" Last week, all permits for journalists to travel to the region were being denied.

The African Union (AU) monitoring force of nearly 7,000 soldiers is also frequently stymied in its investigative attempts. Officials say fuel is stolen, government permission for them to leave their bases is refused, and their soldiers have been killed when convoys were attacked.

During the one-day talks in Ethiopia with UN, EU, and Arab League officials Thursday, Mr. Annan pushed for a "hybrid" force of AU and UN peacekeepers to be allowed into Darfur. But early indications were that Sudan would reject this.

Sudan FVP Kiir to visit S. Africa on Darfur, post-war rebuilding

Nov 23 2006 Xinhua report via People's Daily Online - excerpt:

Issues to dominate discussions between Mbeki and Kiir would include the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Sudan, the situation in Darfur and the situation with regard to the expiration of the mandate of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) at the end of this year, according to the statement.

They will also discuss post-conflict reconstruction and development initiatives within the context of the April 2005 Oslo Pledging conference and the Capacity and Institution Building Project for Southern Sudan.

South Africa now chairs the African Union's Post-conflict and Reconstruction Committee on the Sudan.

Nov 22 2006 ST article - Salva kiir holds talks in Cairo on South Sudan development: The two parties signed a number of memos of understanding in the field of irrigation, including completion of studies on Jonglei canal and other projects.

Sudan FM wants international border patrols

Nov 23 2006 MND report - excerpt:

Sudan's minister for foreign affairs says an existing agreement to form a special AU patrolling unit between Sudan and Chad and the Central African Republic, must be activated to monitor arms trafficking and stabilize the borders. The minister spoke in Tripoli where he attended an AU/EU conference on migration. From there, Sabina Castelfranco reports.

Khartoum's minister for foreign affairs, Mohamed El-Samani El-Wasila, says a joint patrol, under control of the African Union, must be deployed to put an end to arms smuggling between Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic.

He says the recent instability in Chad is not related to Sudan, but due to internal political developments that have led to unrest. Sudan, he added, wants stability in Chad because this affects the situation in Darfur.

"The internal political developments in Chad led to the support of the rebellious from Sudan because there are some factions in the Chadian government supporting the factions of rebellious from Darfur," he said. "And due to the fact that the border between Sudan and Chad is open and uncontrollable, and moreover we share about at least 20 tribes, so nobody can know who is who crossing."

He said, "What we need now from the international community is to encourage getting on board all the factions because no matter how the volume of troops, the nationality of troops, or the composition of troops, if you bring them there in Darfur, unless you get and involve all the factions from Darfur you cannot make sure that you are going to achieve peace," he said.

African Union accuses Darfur rebels of ambush plots

Rebels have long sustained their operations by ambushing and stealing from UN, aid and AU convoys in Darfur, condemned by UN officials. The rebels deny any looting but Reuters witnesses have seen UN trucks and other vehicles in rebel areas.

Full story by Opheera McDoom, Reuters, 23 Nov 2006.

UN says 4m in Darfur need aid - UN & AU call meeting of rebel groups refusing to sign Darfur Peace Agreement

Nov 23 2006 AP report by Edith M Lederer - U.N.: Four Million in Darfur Need Aid - via Guardian. Excerpt:

In a report to the UN Security Council and comments to reporters afterward, he [Jan Egeland] said the best hope for peace is an agreement last week between Sudan and the United Nations that could open the door to the deployment of thousands of UN troops in Darfur as part of a "hybrid" UN-African Union force.

The agreement also called for a revitalized effort under UN and AU auspices to persuade more rebel groups to sign the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, briefing the council later, said the AU and the UN would soon call a meeting of groups that have refused to sign the peace agreement "with the hope of resolving outstanding issues by the end of the year."

If there is "massive pressure on the parties" from all 15 members of the Security Council, and from Asian, African and Islamic countries, Egeland said, "we may make historic deals on the political front."

Hi and welcome to "We blog for Darfur"

This project is still in its start.

"We haven't officially launched it yet. Once we do, we hope that as many bloggers as possible will join us in spreading awareness. Let's not rely on the main stream media. Let us get the word out and spread awareness on the blogosphere instead. Let us inform. Let us give a voice to our voiceless fellow human beings. Let us blog, blog and blog some more."

Blogging for Darfur

See Grandiose Parlor Blogging For Darfur:

"... a new blogging initiative: “We blog for Darfur” - launched by Drima, an African blogger at Sudanese Thinker, and some Middle Eastern bloggers - aims to shed more light on the events in Darfur. Drima, is a Sudanese student in South East Asia whose eight month blogging stint has been impressive.

See Global Voices Online - Sudan: we blog for Darfur: Grandiose Parlor writes about a new blogging initiative, We Blog for Darfur.

More later. So much to track and absorb right now. Still reading and digesting important news reports, posted here below past few days. Scroll down this page and glance through headlines to see what I mean.

Annan awaits Sudan letter on hybrid UN force for Darfur; UN aid chief warns of 'abyss'

Nov 23 2006 African News Dimension report:

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said he was awaiting a letter from Sudan's Government regarding the agreement reached last week on a hybrid UN-African Union force for strife-torn Darfur, while the world body's top aid official warned the Security Council that the region was heading towards an 'abyss' of suffering.

"I spoke to President [Omar Hassan Al] Bashir today and he has indicated that he will be writing to me shortly and I think I should wait for his letter. But in Addis Ababa we agreed to the three phases," Mr. Annan told reporters after briefing the Council on last Thursday's deal reached in the Ethiopian capital.

"The Sudanese delegation had a few questions [on the force] that they wanted to go back and discuss and that's why in presenting the issue to the public I said they had agreed to hybrid operations in principle subject to the clarification of the three issues. And the three issues were the size of the force, the appointment of the Force Commander and the Special Representative, which would be jointly reporting to UN and African Union."

The communique that came out of last week's high-level meeting recommended a peacekeeping force of 17,000 with 3,000 police however, as the UN's top aid official warned the Council today before Mr. Annan's briefing, it may take months for these forces to be deployed but "Darfurians can not wait another day."

"We need therefore the attacks to stop now... All of this leaves the situation in West Darfur, and in Darfur at large, closer to the abyss than I have witnessed since my first visit in 2004," said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland, who recently returned after his fourth mission to the region was cut short because the Government refused him access to several areas, citing security concerns.

"The Government's failure to protect its own citizens even in areas where there are no rebels has been shameful, and continues. So does our own failure, more than a year after world leaders in this very building pledged their own responsibility to protect civilians where the Government manifestly fails to do so."

Painting a particularly grim picture of the humanitarian situation in Darfur, where 4 million people - two thirds of the region's population - are now in need of emergency assistance, Mr. Egeland also repeated his warning of the conflict's wider impact in Africa, while criticizing the Government for its state of denial toward the atrocities.

"Large new militias are being armed as we speak while none are being disarmed... New displacement is also fuelled by cross-border raids of armed groups who receive arms and safe haven on both sides of the Chad-Sudan border, thereby rapidly pushing the conflict towards a regional escalation," he said.

"The rampant insecurity, proliferation of arms, and banditry on roads has taken its toll on the delivery capacity of an increasingly beleaguered humanitarian community... If this trend continues and the world's largest humanitarian operation falters, if the lifeline for millions of civilians collapses, the situation in Darfur will spiral out of control," he warned.

"Earlier, each time I have travelled to Sudan, I have hoped to see a fundamental change in the attitude of the Government, an attitude that has been characterized by denial, neglect and the blaming of others. Yet again, I saw this time no such change, but rather a further entrenching of this attitude. Senior Government officials continue to deny the killings, the displacements and the rape of women."

Mr. Egeland expressed his hope that last week's deal reached in Addis Ababa can "mark an historic turning point to something better," but he also expressed the fear that "time is now lost in talks on the intricacies of the AU/UN partnership rather than the immediate deployment of a more effective force with a more proactive mandate."

At least 200,000 people are estimated to have been killed in Darfur as a result of the conflict between Government forces, allied militias and rebels seeking greater autonomy, and more than 2 million others have been displaced.

But the Government has rejected the expansion of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) to Darfur and at present the UN assists a 7,000-strong African Union mission (AMIS) and is currently working on a $21 million support package. However the AMIS mandate expires on 31 December and Mr. Annan warned yesterday that the world "cannot afford a gap, a vacuum at the end of the year."

The AU Peace and Security Council is scheduled to meet in Abuja on 29 November when they will discuss Darfur and AMIS.

The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, also briefed the Council today on UN support to AMIS as well as on a fact-finding mission to Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) regarding the impact of the killings in neighbouring Darfur.

Representatives from almost 20 countries also spoke during the Council session.

Sudan's Bashir informs Blair and Annan of his rejection of UN force - UN awaits letter from Bashir

Via Sudan Tribune:

Nov 22, 2006 (KHARTOUM) - In phones calls with British Prime minister and UN Secretary General, the Sudanese president repeated his rejection of any UN forces or UN command for the African Union peacekeeping forces in Darfur.

The President pointed out to the unchanged position of the Sudan that the command of the force remains African while accepting assistance from the Untied Nations based on the understandings reached in Addis Ababa, the official SUNA reported.

Expressing his welcome for the logistic and technical assistance to be provided by the UN for the African troops, al-Bashir said that the details of the reinforcement plan would be worked out by a tripartite committee formed by the Sudanese government, the African Union (AU) and the UN.

Kofi Annan confirmed to the press Wednesday Sudanese president call but Bashir said nothing to him, according to the UN secretary general.

"I spoke to (Sudanese) President (Omar) al-Beshir today and he has indicated he will be writing to me shortly," Annan told reporters at the end of the closed-door council consultations. "I think I should wait for his letter."

Following last Thursday's meeting in Addis Ababa, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan announced that Sudan had agreed in principle on the deployment of a joint AU-UN peacekeeping force in Darfur.

But the Sudanese government has denied the agreement, saying the UN could only play an supplementary role in the reinforced African troops in the war-torn region.

UN envoy Jan Pronk says Darfur peacemakers must listen to legitimate Arab concerns

AP report via IHT Nov 22, 2006 CAIRO, Egypt:

Darfur peacemakers must take into account the legitimate concerns of the region's Arab population, distinguishing regular Arabs from the "criminal janjaweed" militia responsible for atrocities, said Jan Pronk, the expelled head of the UN operation in Sudan.

"We should take away some of the motives which inspire the janjaweed to attack," Pronk said in an e-mail to The Associated Press in Cairo.

Separately, Pronk said he would be returning to his Khartoum office in early December to prepare the transition to his successor, who has yet to be appointed.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed full confidence in Pronk but withdrew him for consultations. Pronk had intended to step down on Dec. 31.

The three-year conflict in Darfur in western Sudan has become a battle between African rebels and government troops allied with the Arab militia, known as janjaweed. But it stems from a decades-old competition between African and Arab ethnic groups in Sudan for land, water and grazing rights.

More than 200,000 people have been killed and about 2.5 million people displaced in the fighting. U.N. investigators have blamed the janjaweed for the bulk of the rapes, arson, looting and killing.

But after world outcry over janjaweed atrocities, Darfur's Arab minority feels more vulnerable, fearing it would lose out in any settlement. Some Arab nomads have recently voiced exasperation at the facilities in Darfur's refugee camps, where aid groups provide drinking water and food to Africans who have had to flee their homes.

"Without the Arabs in Darfur, there is no political solution," Pronk wrote Monday.

"If we could distinguish between, on the one hand, Arabs with legitimate concerns and demands and, on the other, (the) Arab criminal Janjaweed, we could further the political process," he added.

Pronk said that during his two and a half years in Darfur he regularly met Arab leaders, particularly those in West Darfur, to discuss security arrangements for U.N. humanitarian workers and to hear Arab views on peace initiatives.

Those Arabs who resort to violence have various motives, he said. "Many attacks are only criminal. Many are genocidal, aiming to cleanse an area. Some are (a) form of retaliation against other tribes, or against looting of camels, or against tribes which are considered to support the rebels."

Pronk said he also had tried to meet Musa Hilal, the reputed leader of the janjaweed in North Darfur.

"At a certain moment Musa Hilal wanted to see me. We arranged a meeting, but (Sudanese) National Security prevented him (from keeping) the appointment. Thereupon I took the initiative to meet him. However, he avoided me," Pronk wrote in the email.

Hilal, a tribal chief, is currently in a janjaweed camp near the North Darfur town of Kutum, according to a UN official in Darfur who spoke on condition of anonymity. In April the U.N. Security Council and the United States imposed financial sanctions on Hilal, accusing him of orchestrating atrocities in Darfur.

Sudan's government has long denied any connection with the janjaweed. But U.N. officials who investigated the conflict reported in 2005 that the state had armed the militia. And militiamen such as Hilal have confirmed in past interviews that the janjaweed took its orders from the regular army.

The U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, Jan Egeland, accused Sudan's government on Saturday of arming the janjaweed and said it was committing acts of "inexplicable terror" against civilians. The Sudanese Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs accused Egeland of lying.

Associated Press reporter Alfred de Montesquiou contributed to this report from Khartoum, Sudan.

African leaders agree to resolve Darfur conflict - VP Taha reiterates Sudan's rejection of any type of guardianship or foreign intervention

Nov 22 2006 Aljazeera (Agencies) 22 Nov 2006 - African leaders agree to resolve Darfur conflict - excerpt:

Arab and African leaders held a mini-summit on Darfur in Libya, where they agreed to work together to resolve the conflict "without foreign intervention."

The presidents of Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Eritrea and the Central African Republic met in Tripoli on Tuesday amid rising impatience from both the United States and United Nations, who pressure the Sudanese government to fully accept a plan that would allow the deployment of an international peacekeeping force in Darfur.

"This summit opens the road for us to approach the end of the current situation in Darfur and end the tension between Sudan and its neighbors, Chad and the Central African Republic," Egypt's state news agency, MENA, quoted President Hosni Mubarak as saying.

Ali al-Treiki, Libya's secretary of African affairs, also said that the summit participants agreed on an "African solution" for Darfur, and called on the rebel groups to sign a January peace accord known as the "Abuja agreement".

He added that Chad's Idriss Deby Itno and CAR President Francois Bozize agreed to go to Khartoum to iron their differences.

Meanwhile, President Idriss Daby said he was optimistic the Tripoli meeting would revive a deal between Chad and Sudan, in which both nations agreed not to back rebels on the other's soil. "Today I return with great hope to my country, because this meeting was better than those before in February," he said.

The Darfur conflict has spilled over the border into eastern Chad and the northern CAR, who accuse Khartoum of trying to destabilize their countries.

On the other hand, Khartoum accuses Chad of backing the rebels in Darfur.

Mixed AU-UN force

The Tripoli meeting comes a week after Sudan signed a deal with the United Nations that allows the deployment of an international peacekeeping force to back the African Union mission in Darfur.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and other regional leaders have long rejected plans to replace the existing 7,000-member AU peacekeeping force with a stronger UN mission. But the Sudanese government said it signed the recent agreement to deploy a mixed AU-UN force in the war-torn region.

Triki said that the deployment would be discussed between Sudan, the UN and the AU, adding that African and Sudanese leaders "want an African solution to their problems without external intervention and without the putting pressure on Sudan."

Another Libyan official, who demanded anonymity, said Tripoli was keen to find a "radical solution to the Darfur crisis to avoid the deployment of international forces."

Earlier this week, Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi said that the presence of UN forces in Darfur would amount to a return to "colonialism", adding that Sudan's army can curb violence better than foreign troops.

Meanwhile, Sudan's Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha reiterated his country's "rejection of any type of guardianship or foreign intervention in the country".

Addressing a meeting of the ruling party politburo in Khartoum on Wednesday, Taha also said that "there's no room for medium positions in the question of the UN forces."

(AFP Photo) Sudanese President Omar Bashir upon his arrival to Tripoli.

Sudanese FVP Kiir wants troops in Darfur even without Khartoum's OK

SudanTribune 22 November 2006 (CAIRO) - excerpt:

The international community should send peacekeepers to Darfur with or without Khartoum's approval, the Sudanese regime's number two Salva Kiir has said.

"My position has always been very clear... that international forces should come to save lives," the Sudanese first vice president told reporters in Cairo after meeting Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Wednesday.

Asked if the Sudanese government's consent should be a prerequesite to any deployment, Kiir said: "It should not be a condition. There will be no reason, if people are dying... and it should not restrict the international community from coming in to save lives."

His comment came a day after a Darfur summit in Libya attended by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir agreed to seek an "African solution" to the crisis which has rocked Africa's largest country for four years and threatens to spill over into neighbouring states.

VOA: Agreement On Darfur

The following editorial reflects the views of the United States Government -

VOA News 22 Nov 2006 - Agreement On Darfur:

A plan has been approved to protect victims of atrocities committed in the Darfur region of Sudan. The agreement came at a high-level meeting held at African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In a written statement, Andrew Natsios, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan, said, "Representatives from the African Union, including Gabon, South Africa, Senegal, Rwanda, Nigeria and the Republic of the Congo, the Arab League, including Egypt and Libya, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, the European Union, and Sudan affirmed the major elements of United Nations Security Council resolution seventeen-oh-six. This includes the expansion of the peacekeeping force in Darfur to some seventeen-thousand soldiers and three-thousand police - mostly from African countries. Mr. Natsios says, "The United States welcomes the successful outcome of this historic meeting."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the agreement "is certainly a real opportunity to resolve an extremely difficult problem."

Fighting broke out in Darfur in 2003 after rebels complained that the region had been marginalized by the central government. Rebels attacked government facilities. In response, Sudan's government armed a militia called the Janjaweed that attacked not only rebels but also civilians. The Janjaweed murdered men, raped women, and beat children to death. More than two-hundred-thousand people in Darfur have died from fighting, famine, and disease. Some two-million now live in refugee camps in Darfur or in neighboring Chad.

A seven-thousand member African Union force has been trying to provide security. In August, the U-N Security Council authorized the transformation of the African Union force into a larger U-N peacekeeping force.

President George W. Bush says the U.S. and others feel they must do something about the suffering in Darfur:

"The government of Sudan must understand that we're . . . earnest and serious about their necessity to step up and work with the international community."

Mr. Bush says, "The situation in Darfur is on our minds. The people who have suffered," he says, "need to know that the United States will work with others to help solve the problem."