Photo via skitalets.ru Consider this offer:

Khartoum attacks pinpoint plight of Darfur, says Sudan bishop

Roman Catholic Bishop Antonio Menegazzo, the apostolic administrator of El Obeid diocese which covers Darfur, has said the attack on the country's capital, Khartoum, by a rebel group from the troubled western part of Sudan, signifies a deterioration of the situation in the region, reports Ecumenical News International.

"The situation in Darfur is worsening," Menegazzo told Ecumenical News International on 12 May. "I was already convinced of this, but the conviction has increased after the attempted attack by a group of rebels on Khartoum." He was referring to the attack by the rebels from Darfur, the unsettled province in western Sudan.

"But I am convinced that private interests have infiltrated the movement. This is the only explanation I find in the increasing of the number of groups of the rebels: from three main groups they reached the number of 12 and more," said Menegazzo in an apparent reference to warring groups that promote the specific interests of some ethnic groups.

In New York, the UN Security Council on 13 May issued a strong condemnation of the attack but it warned the government in Khartoum not to retaliate against civilians.

Rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) attacked Khartoum on 10 May, but were repelled after clashes with Sudanese troops and a curfew was imposed. It was the first fighting in the capital in many years of conflict between the rebels and the central government, which has strong backing from Sudanese Arabs, who make up nearly 40 percent of the population in Africa's biggest country.

"This is just the start of a process and the end is termination of the regime," Khalil Ibrahim, the leader of JEM was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency on 12 May. "Don't expect just one attack."

Cities across Darfur have remained calm, especially Nyala, the headquarters of the province, despite violence and government bombings in other parts.

Menegazzo said the international response to and humanitarian help for the Darfur crisis were not sufficient.

In April a delegation led by the World Council of Churches visited Darfur and the south of Sudan, where a separate conflicted had been waged for decades, but was stemmed after a 2005 pact called the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in Nairobi.

"It seems the CPA is holding Sudan together," the Rev. Samuel Kobia, the WCC general secretary had observed. "The biggest challenge is reconciliation and healing. The country is sitting on a social time bomb."

Church analysts continue to warn that the CPA could fail, plunging Sudan into an all out war. They cite continuing tensions between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in southern Sudan and the government in Khartoum.

[05/16/2008]

Print Version