Many of you have been following the news regarding the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. Over the last 4 years the government backed militias and rebel groups there have slaughtered some four to six hundred thousand people, and two to three million have been left homeless. Time for a reality check folks, where we put things into perspective here...
The AP is reporting that attacks by the Janjaweed in Chad (across the border from Darfur) on March 31st left an estimated 400 innocent men, women & children dead, and another 9,000 left homeless and looking for shelter in the UN Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Chad. This genocide is no longer confined to the Darfur region of Sudan. It’s spreading in to neighboring countries and it’s spreading fast.
Janjaweed militiamen killed up to 400 people in the volatile eastern border area near Sudan's Darfur region, leaving an "apocalyptic" scene of mass graves and destruction, the U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday.
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"Estimates of the number of dead have increased substantially and now range between 200 and 400," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said. "Because most of the dead were buried where their bodies were found — often in common graves owing to their numbers — we may never know their exact number."
The attackers encircled the villages and opened fire, pursuing fleeing villagers, robbing women and shooting the men, UNHCR said. Many who survived the initial attack died later from exhaustion and dehydration, often while fleeing.
Four hundred dead in a single day – I don’t know about you but I’m at a loss as to how the international community can sit by and allow this to happen...
Sudan and Chad repeatedly have accused one another of backing rebels in each other's countries, and both have denied the allegations. Both countries also have signed peace deals promising to stop the border fighting.
The governments of Sudan & Chad are accusing each other of harboring rebel groups and are sending troops over the border – if this is allowed to continue we could see a full scale war erupt in that region with millions of innocent people caught in the cross-fire.
As for those 9,000 refuges, the United Nations reports the following on the March 31st attacks...
HABILE CAMP, Chad, March 10 (UNHCR) – Some 9,000 Chadians have arrived in UN refugee agency trucks and on their own at the Habile site for internally displaced persons after brutal attacks on two villages left houses torched and the ground strewn with dead.
A United Nations team headed by UNHCR reached the burnt out villages of Tiero and Marena on Sunday, a week after the March 31 attacks. Survivors blamed the attacks on janjaweed militiamen on horses and camels, assisted by Chadian rebels with heavy weaponry and vehicles. Decomposing bodies still lay on the ground and smoke hung in the air from the last of the fires that had destroyed their houses.
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More than 9,000 Chadians from 31 villages have now arrived at the new Habile site for IDPs in UNHCR vehicles or by themselves. They joined another 9,000 who had fled earlier attacks in the region, especially last November and December when inter-communal violence left more than 200 dead and many wounded.
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The majority of the IDP population is comprised of women and children; the whereabouts of many men remains unknown.
The scene of the attacks has been described as apocalyptic. The attackers didn’t discriminate either – a 70 year old man was found shot in the head as was the 30 year old father of 8. Dead and rotting domestic animals left a stench in the villages where hundreds of homes had been burned to the ground.
Maybe we should start calling these the Darfur / Chad / Central African Republic Diaries from here on out because this is quickly becoming a regional crisis.
Ok so here’s the "ACTION!" part... take a minute and make a couple toll free calls to the WH & your CongressCritters.
White House: 1-800-671-7787.
Capitol Switchboard: 1-800-828-0498.
Then go to this DNC site and use their online tools to write a letter to the editor of your local papers and media outlets.
Join the call for a no-fly zone (to be enforced by the French), sanctions against the perpetrators of this genocide, divestment of any shares in companies doing business with Sudan, and the installment of United Nations peacekeepers (to help the African Union troops already on the ground).
This slaughter of innocents cannot be allowed to continue and it should not go unanswered by the rest of the world.
And it sure as hell shouldn't be ignored by the good people of this community. Take a minute and make a call or two. You'll be helping to save millions of innocent lives in your call for action.
UPDATE
I won't re-post my list of resources, but for more information and links to aid groups, advocacy groups and reports, click here and scroll down a bit.