As the United States and the European Union have been hard at work rebuilding ties with Sudan, the situation in Darfur is not getting any better, far from it. A year ago, we reported in this post an article by Sudan expert Eric Reeves about the failed UN/African Union “hybrid” Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) he called the greatest failure in the history of UN peacekeeping and one of the very most expensive:
The greatest consequence of UNAMID’s deployment out of Darfur are the continuation, and in some places acceleration, of daily ethnically-targeted attacks on civilians throughout Darfur, primarily by Arab militias controlled or sanctioned by Khartoum. Non-Arab (African) civilians continue to be—as they have been for more than fourteen years—subject to murder, rape, displacement, and loss of property and goods.
A year later, the situation has worsened, as you can read in our recent post: The International Community and Khartoum’s ‘Final Solution’ in Darfur. A few days ago, Radio Dabanga reported that at least five civilians were killed by government troops and dozens were injured in an attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on civilians at the weekly Deribat market in East Jebel Marra, South Darfur on Monday :
Witnesses from Deribat told Radio Dabanga that the militia, after withdrawing from Jawa, attacked the market and opened fire, killing five people and injuring dozens.
Witnesses confirmed that the government militia forces also attacked the market, where they beat shoppers and traders and looted their goods.
Witnesses confirmed that the government forces also shelled south and west of Deribat with heavy weapons, wounding seven civilians.
Witnesses described the situation in the area and other parts of East Jebel Marra as tense.
Citing Radio Dabanga report in his latest post, Eric Reeves asks:
What will “security” look like in Darfur in the “fully serviced residential communities” into which camps for the displaced are being “converted”? The primary military force on the ground will remain the Rapid Support Forces, and their brutal, rapacious character will not change.
Visit Reeves’ website for detailed news and reports on the Darfur.
