Daily Darfur: Department of Redundancy Department

The government of Chad said that it carried out air strikes against rebel forces in the east, after they crossed over from Sudan --- and likely with Sudanese support --- earlier this week in yet another attempt to advance on N'djamena. Sudan denies Chad's allegations, but given the history of the proxy war by which Chad sponsors Darfuri rebels and Sudan supports Chadian groups, Khartoum's protests are hardly believable. (Same ol' thing, over and over.) A Chadian peace organization is calling for international intervention to quell the violence.

Humanitarian Update

My Change.org co-blogger Michael started a series on the current humanitarian situation in Darfur, noting that dire predictions of rapid deterioration following the expulsion of 13 foreign aid agencies in March have yet to materialize. A couple of interesting news items, on that front:

• Solidarités, one of the 13 agencies, issued a statement yesterday denouncing its expulsion and the "political instrumentalisation of humanitarian aid in Darfur." It's a strong statement --- but why now, two months after the fact?
• UN Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes is visiting Sudan this week.
• The government of Sudan claims that it is ready to admit new foreign aid organizations to Darfur, but that the issue of the 13 expelled is "finished." Sudan Vision, a government mouthpiece, writes of a "readiness to cooperate with new organizations," but I don't think Khartoum's treatment of NGOs in Darfur throughout the entire history of the conflict can accurately be described as anything close to "cooperation." (More like: We'll let you in and then use every means at our disposal to obstruct your work.)

[Photo from AFP: Chadian rebels carry weaponry as they ride in a truck near El-Geneina, in April 2009, the capital of Sudan's Darfur region, near the Chadian border. Sudanese-backed rebels swarmed into eastern Chad and closed in on a strategic town Tuesday as the Chadian government accused its neighbour of reneging on a peace agreement signed at the weekend. ]