Congress approves emergency funds for darfur

The U.S. Congress passed $173 million in emergency funding for the poorly funded and armed Darfur peacekeepers.

A UN assessment team visited Darfur and Chad last week and issued a report upon their return. The violence is spreading into Chad. Sudanese Janjaweed and rebel groups have driven up to 50,000 Chadians from their homes and are living next to Darfurians in refugee camps. The ethnic nature of the violence is also bleeding into Chad. The Janjaweed have begun recruiting Arab Chadians to join in their attacks. Chadian President Idriss Deby continues to accuse Sudan of inciting and funding this violence.

The UN delegation is seeking a resolution to the Darfur conflict that will address violence in Darfur and Chad.

The BBC reports this week that refugees still feel that there is not enough security in Darfur for them to return home. A Sudanese Red Crescent clinic — one of only two serving more than 40,000 refugees — will likely be forced to close in the coming weeks due to lack of international aid.

Amnesty International reported that China has been exporting military equipment that is being used to commit atrocities in highly volatile conflict regions including Darfur.