Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Not an Auspicious Beginning

If this report holds up under scrutiny, then the truce between khartoum and Darfur rebels has not begun well. Reuters has the story here. It looks like a he-said/he-said so far:
Sudanese troops and helicopters killed seven civilians and wounded about 10 in attacks on villages in the western Darfur region, the rebel commander of the area told Reuters on Monday.

Sudanese officials were not available to comment.

An official from the African Union, which is monitoring a shakey ceasefire in the area, said a team had been sent to investigate but had not yet reported back.

The attacks took place at two separate sites along the road between Nyala and al-Fasher on Sunday, rebel commanders said.

"They (Sudanese forces) killed three civilians in Abu Hamra and four in Sheng al-Tobei," said Adam Yacoub, the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) commander of the area.

"About 10 people were wounded in total," he added.
If Sudanese forces did attack this village, then it's clear Khartoum has no intention of altering its genocidal policy in Darfur. How will the International community respond to such defiance? How will the U.S. answer this challenge?