November
18, 2006: Sudanese air force bombers, and government supported Arab militias,
attacked refugee camps along the border, causing dozens of casualties and
sending thousands of people fleeing.
November
18, 2006: The German NGO Welthungerhilfe said that it was withdrawing its
personnel from Sudan's Darfur region. The NGO operates near the Sudan-Chad
border and helps run the Birmaza refugee camp. Increased fighting in the border
region is putting NGO personnel at risk. Other NGOs and UN observers have
reported that the fighting along the Sudan-Chad border has increased
dramatically in the last week to ten days. The fighting has produced a new wave
of "thousands" of refugees.
November
17, 2006: Sudan said that the UN could only provide "technical support" for the
African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Darfur. However, a spokesman for
Sudan's president said that the UN could provide troops though the mix of force
levels had not been decided. The presidential adviser, however, insisted that
the AU had to be in charge. Beyond continued AU command of the force, it
appears the Sudanese government has been caught off guard by the UN plan to aid
the AU force in Darfur. A "mix" of forces that includes three or four
first-rate combat battalions (European, Indian, Pakistani, or South African)
would put capable peacekeepers in Darfur. If supported by adequate
intelligence, attack and transport helicopters, light armor, and strike
aircraft, the battalions would present a huge problem for Janjaweed-type
militia fighters. But it would also result in Western (Christian) troops
killing Moslem militiamen. This is considered oppression by much of the Islamic
media.
November
16, 2006: At talks held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the United Nations agreed to
a "joint peacekeeping force" with the AU. The current AU force (approximately
7000 troops) could expand to 17,000 and later to 27,000.
