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 SudanAtrocities Continue, Even as the International Community Pushes for PeaceIn October 2007, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) quit the
national unity government, leaving the peace agreement signed in 2005 on
the brink of collapse. The SPLA claimed that the governing party, the
National Congress Party, had ignored its concerns over boundary between
the north and south and how to divide the country's oil wealth.
Sudan faced international criticism once again in January 2008, when
Musa Hilal, a Janjaweed leader, was appointed to a top government position
as an adviser to the minister of federal affairs. Human Rights Watch
called Hilal "the poster child for Janjaweed atrocities in Darfur."
Government forces and the janjaweed resumed their attacks in the Darfur
region in February 2008, forcing as many as 45,000 people to flee their
homes. The government claimed it was targeting the Justice and Equality
Movement, a rebel group that has become increasingly powerful and is
believed to be linked to the government of Chad. Civilians in the region,
however, say the attacks have continued after the rebels escape. The
Justice and Equality Movement launched a bold attack in May, coming within
a few miles of Khartoum before being repulsed by government troops. It was
the first time that the conflict in Darfur has threatened to spill over
into Khartoum.
In July 2008, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International
Criminal Court (ICC), indicts Bashir with genocide for planning and
executing the decimation of Darfur's three main ethnic tribes: the Fur,
the Masalit, and the Zaghawa. Moreno-Ocampo also said Bashir "purposefully
targeted civilians" and used "rapes, hunger, and fear" to terrorize
civilians. Many observers fear that Bashir will respond to the charges
with further violence. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Bashir in March 2009, charging him with war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region. An indictment for genocide was rejected by the court. Bashir responded by shutting down the 13 aid agencies that operate relief camps in Sudan and assist millions of people in Darfur. The UN said that as a result, 1.1 million people will be left without food, 1.1 million without health care, and another 1 million without water.
See also
Encyclopedia:
Sudan
.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Sudan
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