Daily Darfur: Khartoum Admits to Bombings, UNAMID Earns its Keep

First, if you haven't voted to "End the Genocide in Darfur" yet, what on earth are you waiting for?

Now on with the news:

The government of Sudan admitted to bombing rebels in Darfur, saying they targeted groups who did not abide by a ceasefire announced---note: announced, not agreed to---in November. I wrote forcibly disarm the rebels, and then gave them all of three days to comply. (What part of "cease" and "fire" don't you understand?)

But in another sign that the ICC investigation against Sudanese President al-Bashir is ratcheting up the pressure on Khartoum, the BBC writes:

"The BBC's Sudan correspondent says it is highly unusual for the military to admit aerial attacks in Darfur.

It comes amid renewed tension over whether the International Criminal Court will charge Sudan President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur"

Things like this make me wonder about what's going on behind the scenes that we have absolutely no idea about...

Three Cheers for UNAMID

For all of the criticisms of UN peacekeeping efforts (some valid, some less so), UNAMID surely proved its worth yesterday: Troops from the UN/AU peacekeeping force in Darfur successfully thwarted the attempted abduction of several women outside of an IDP camp in Darfur:

"A patrol from the hybrid force, known as UNAMID, was dispatched Tuesday to the Hassa Hissa internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in West Darfur after being alerted that six women had been snatched while collecting firewood in nearby fields, the press release said.

The kidnappers released the women when they saw the UNAMID team approaching the scene, it added."

The abduction and rape of women, often when they leave the IDP camps to forage for firewood for cooking, has become a hallmark of the conflict in Darfur. Numerous groups run programs to deliver solar cookers to the camps, to keep women from embarking on these dangerous daily missions---check out Darfur Peace and Development and the Genocide Intervention Network to find out how you can help.

In more good news for UNAMID, the first loaded American C-17 touched down in Kigali yesterday:

"Since they're flying the missions anyway, they loaded the aircraft with anything else that they (the peacekeepers) needed," said Eric Elliott, a U.S. Africa Command spokesman on the ground in Rwanda.

In all, some 150 tons of equipment will be delivered to Al Fashir, the main logistics hub for peacekeepers in the Darfur region of Sudan. Extra supplies added to the cargo included water purification systems and several thousand pounds of spare parts for vehicles.