Darfur Peace and Development

December 17, 2008 (PARIS) The International Criminal Court (ICC) denied reports that a date has been set for issuing an arrest warrant against Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

“No date regarding the judges’ decision has ever been given by the office of the prosecutor” a statement sent by the Hague based court to Sudan Tribune.

“The decision on the request for an arrest warrant against President Al Bashir is now in the…

More than 300 Ethiopian troops arrived in Darfur over the last two days to boost the strength of the joint United Nations-African Union force, known as UNAMID, deployed earlier this year in an attempt to suppress the violence and humanitarian suffering in the war-torn Sudanese region.

More personnel from the Ethiopian Infantry Battalion are expected to land in El Geneina, West Darfur by the end of the week.

Their principal duties will…

Violent clashes between the warring factions in conflict-ravaged Darfur threaten humanitarian work and the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation in the Sudanese region, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warns in his latest report on the mission, urging all parties to end hostilities immediately.

Fighting on the western flank of Sudan “and displacement continue, humanitarian operations are at risk, clashes between the parties occur with regrettable regularity and the parties have not reached…

December 17, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Foreign Ministry today dismissed documentation of the Sudanese army’s role in systematic abduction of civilians in Darfur for the purposes of sexual slavery and forced labour, but not did refer specifically to any of the cases pointed to in the report.

Field research in Darfur conducted by the Darfur Consortium over the last two years indicated that “many hundreds of people have been abducted…

Two gunmen equipped with AK-47 assault rifles and a hand grenade stopped a humanitarian convoy in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region today, beat up the aid workers and stole money in the latest of a long series of such assaults that are impeding relief operations.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) convoy of three vehicles with six local staff was stopped this morning in South Darfur on its way from Nyala, the provincial capital…

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December 2, 2008 (NEW YORK) Fifteen rights groups issued a report claiming that the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur is not improving, as the government says, but Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ambassador Ali Al-Sadiq immediately responded that Sudan has not broken its pledge of cease-fire.

A coalition of nongovernmental organizations, including Human Rights Watch, the Save Darfur Coalition and Human Rights First, said that government-led attacks on civilian populations…

Peacekeepers serving with the joint United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) are working to calm tensions in the south of the war-wracked region after violent clashes between Janjaweed militiamen and the residents of a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Two militiamen armed with one rifle quarrelled yesterday with IDPs living at the Hissa Hissa camp in South Darfur state, UNAMID reported today after it dispatched staff to verify reports…

November 30, 2008 (DOHA) The Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir returned home after taking part in the UN development conference that was held in the Arab Gulf state of Qatar.

Sudan official news agency (SUNA) said that Al-Bashir’s meeting in Doha included presidents of Algeria, Tanzania, Kenya, France, Eritrea, Qatar and Secretary General of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

However the state agency made no mention of any summit between Al-Bashir and UN…

November 30, 2008 (KHARTOUM) A senior Sudanese official today accused unspecified political parties of seeking to delay elections scheduled for next year.

“They [political parties] want to postpone elections hoping they can raise the issue of a forming a broad coalition government” Sudan senior presidential adviser Nafi Ali Nafi told students at Khartoum university.

“Ingaz [ruling National Congress Party] will stay in power even if elections were delayed for a century”…