Darfur, Sudan
Sudan sent 10,000 troops swooping into Darfur this week to attack villages held by rebels. The offensive by the Arab-led government in Khartoum appears to be an attempt to wipe out rebel forces so that Sudan does not have to allow the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force. Last week the U.N. Security Council authorized the creation of an international force of 20,000, but the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, rejected the U.N. deployment, calling it “part of a comprehensive conspiracy for confiscating the country’s sovereignty.” The current peacekeeping force of 7,000 African Union soldiers has been unable to protect civilians, and Sudan ordered it to leave when its mandate expires at the end of this month. Fighting between rebels and the government-backed Janjaweed militia has killed more than 200,000 people, and forced 2 million from their homes.
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