Daily Darfur: Janjaweed vs. IDPs - A Match-Up Destined for Disaster

by Michelle . · 2008-12-12 02:53:00 UTC
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Tensions between displaced persons at the Hassa Hissa camp in Darfur and Janjaweed militias show no signs of easing. UNAMID peacekeepers confirmed the death of the camp's traditional leader at the hands of unidentified gunmen--though it's not difficult to put two-and-two together and speculate on the motive of the attack.

Earlier this month, camp residents retaliated against a Janajweed attack on a water pump, resulting in the death of a militiaman. The Janjaweed response was less than tempered:

"The following day a dozen armed men set ablaze a water pump and five generators supplying energy to Hissa Hissa, lightly injuring one IDP. Then, too, UNAMID sent an armed team to calm down the tensions between the camp residents and the militiamen.

"A day later, two gunmen equipped with AK-47 assault rifles and a hand grenade stopped a humanitarian convoy, beat up aid workers and stole money as it was on its way from Nyala, the South Darfur capital, to Kalma IDP camp."

A stand-off between IDPs and Janjaweed is cause for serious, serious concern--it could be fairly easy for armed militia to surround a camp and close in on civilians with no where else to run. (This is where they've already run to--now they're concentrated in one place.)

Wondering...

...what PrairiePundit means by an "effective counterinsurgency strategy" in Darfur?

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
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