The Situation in Darfur

From what I can gather from news reports, situation in Darfur seems to be deteriorating by the day. In spite of the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement some analysts are suggestions that the violence in Western Darfur is reaching levels close to that of 2004 (widely considered to be the deadliest time in the conflict's history).

According to the analyst Eric Reeves:
Recent events in West Darfur, along the border with Chad, should compel us to start calling things by their correct names again. What we’re seeing in Darfur now is a level of ethnically targeted violence that hasn’t been approached since the terrifying days of 2004. Beginning on February 8, Janjaweed militias, coordinating with Khartoum’s regular troops and military aircraft, began to attack areas north of el-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. They targeted the towns of Sirba, Abu Surug, and Silea---all of which had come under control of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) this past December and January. Militarily imprecise barrel bombs leveled much of these three towns, as well as surrounding villages and displaced persons camps. More than 60,000 civilians fled, perhaps 12,000 into eastern Chad, where the intensity of Khartoum’s bombing attacks forced the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to withdraw its personnel.

In addition to this, Khartoum has in the past two months periodically suspended all humanitarian flights into Darfur. In addition to potentially limiting my options of entering the area this means that food, water, and medical assistance to the refugees in Darfur are being threatened by Khartoum.

While the news coming from the region is undeniably frightening, the most terrifying reality is the eerily similar pattern we are seeing between the situation today and that of 2004. An article by the Washington Post written by Eric Reeves during this period echoes the same sense of escalation that we see today: Khartoum has so far refused to rein in its Arab militias; has refused to enter into meaningful peace talks with the insurgency groups; and most disturbingly, refuses to grant unfettered humanitarian access. The international community has been slow to react to Darfur’s catastrophe and has yet to move with sufficient urgency and commitment. A credible peace forum must rapidly be created. Immediate plans for humanitarian intervention should begin. The alternative is to allow tens of thousands of civilians to die in the weeks and months ahead in what will be continuing genocidal destruction.


The irony of this situation is that even though I will be in the midst of this situation in a few short days I can so easily get distracted by the things that demand my attention every day. In the past four years hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, or left vulnerable to violence, disease, malnutrition, and dehydration. Since 2003 over 2.5 million people have been displaced into refugee camps (like the one where I will be).


So I ask that you pray for me as I prepare my heart and mind to go – that I will be open and sensitive to how the Lord will use this trip. My dear friend Ryan Vroegindewey who is working in Benin wrote this email to me a few days ago, and I believe if captures so beautifully the prayer that I seek - “As you go (to Darfur), remember that the corners of this world that now hide the cruelest wrongs and the deepest hurting are the very places in Creation that will one day radiate most gloriously the Peace, Rest, and Justice that Christ promises to bring. When your senses and spirit grow weary from all that you witness and experience, I pray that you may be strengthened, and that you may strengthen others, with this hope.”