Opheera McDoom
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/ 17 January 2007

UN: Darfur aid operation faces collapse

United Nations agencies on Wednesday said the world’s largest aid operation in Darfur is under threat because of attacks and insecurity and urged concrete steps be taken to stem the violence. The joint statement said in the past six months about 250 000 people had been forced to flee violence, many for the second or third time.

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/ 16 January 2007

Darfur rebels accuse govt of bombing raid

Sudanese government planes bombed Darfur rebel areas on Tuesday despite a declared truce, rebels said. ”The Antonovs bombed our areas of Amrai and Anka,” Darfur rebel commander Jar el-Neby told the media from North Darfur, near the affected areas. He said it was not immediately clear whether any civilians were killed.

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/ 8 January 2007

Sudan softens stance on UN troops

Khartoum has softened its stance on United Nations troops being deployed to Darfur, leaving the door open for blue-helmeted international troops to protect civilians in its vast west, a presidential adviser said on Monday. Khartoum has rejected UN Security Council Resolution 1706 authorising 22 500 UN troops and police to take over the Darfur peacekeeping mission.

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/ 30 November 2006

Officer claims hundreds killed in Sudan clashes

Hundreds of people may have been killed in the heaviest fighting between Sudan’s former north-south foes since they signed a peace deal last year, a senior former rebel officer said on Thursday. United Nations officials in New York said 240 civilian personnel had been temporarily evacuated after the clashes in the southern town of Malakal over the past three days.

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/ 13 November 2006

No deal after UN official meets Ugandan rebel Kony

United Nations humanitarian chief Jan Egeland held a dramatic jungle meeting with the leader of the rebel Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army on Sunday but failed to secure the release of women and children. Joseph Kony, an elusive self-proclaimed mystic, emerged with an entourage of heavily armed young men from dense forest on the border between Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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/ 1 November 2006

War-weary Darfuris dance to rare music beat

More used to the sound of gunfire, the residents of Darfur’s main town el-Fasher tapped their feet to a rare beat as musicians from all over Sudan performed in a festival for reconciliation. For 10 days, puppet shows for children, street theatre and concerts provided welcome distraction for Darfuris who have been terrorised by rebels, the government and militias.

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/ 24 October 2006

Envoy leaves Sudan, UN says he has full support

Top United Nations envoy Jan Pronk left Khartoum on Monday after the government raised the stakes in a dispute with the world body by ordering him out of the country. Khartoum was already on a collision course with the international community over its rejection of a UN Security Council resolution to send 22 500 UN troops and police to its violent western Darfur region.