Darfur one year after "peace accords": worse than ever

Submitted by Bill Weinberg

Celebrations were held May 5 at the Gereida displaced persons camp in Darfur, to mark the one-year anniversary of the signing of the "Darfur Peace Agreement" (DPA). Significantly, the camp is controlled by the Minni Menawi faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), the only rebel group to sign the DPA. The faction's leadership had much to celebrate. Menawi was made an adviser to Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and moved into a plush Khartoum residence next door to the British Embassy. At the time of the signing last year, diplomats were also celebrating. The UK's international development secretary Hilary Benn heralded the deal as a "very significant agreement which means that the process of bringing peace to Darfur can now begin." But instead, the security situation across Darfur has worsened and the conflict has broadened.

The initial rebellion by Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit tribes against Khartoum, and the brutal counter-insurgency by government-backed Janjaweed militia have morphed into something far more complicated. Some Janjaweed factions are now also in rebellion against the government and at war with each other, as they fight over land they helped to clear of Fur or Zaghawa. Read more >>>>