Weekly News Brief: November 3-10, 2008

Darfur

The rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rejected the Qatar peace talks expressed interest in bilateral peace talks with the Government of Sudan (GoS), which were rejected.

17 UNAMID Peacekeepers were ambushed this Sunday by unknown men, and one UNAMID officer was wounded.

There were new reports from UNAMID of two girls and several women being raped by men wearing military uniforms.  Meanwhile, there have been broader reports of a troop buildup by the Sudanese Army in all three Darfur states and a weapons buildup in the South.

The election of Barack Obama as the next US President has had a significant reaction inside Sudan: the Darfur rebels welcomed Obama’s election and expressed hope he would make ending the crisis in Darfur a priority, and the Government of South Sudan declared there would be an official holiday in his honor.

Meanwhile, in the United States, ENOUGH has released a paper calling for ending the crisis in Darfur to be a Day One priority, and outlining the steps the new administration must take to reach there. A Washington Times editorial offered a supporting opinion.

Burma

Hundreds of Karen villagers have fled their homes along Burma’s border with Thailand to escape fighting between troops of the rebel groups and the Burmese Government.

Moreover, 500 ethnic Karen in east Burma were displaced in October alone.

Congo

Congolese Tutsi rebels and government troops have clashed in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a few kilometres from a refugee camp. The fighting on Friday effectively ended a shaky ceasefire , caught UN peacekeepers in the crossfire, and forced thousands of civilians to flee.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is meeting with the presidents of the DRC, Joseph Kabila, and Rwanda, Paul Kagame, in hopes of reviving a peace deal. Mr. Ban called for a surge of 3,000 troops.

After a summit this weekend, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) called for a ceasefire in eastern DRC and for the UN to increase its presence in the area. Despite speculation to the contrary, Angola stated that it does not plan to intervene in DRC.

Rebel leader Laurent Nkunda said he would extend the war to the Congolese capitol unless the government agreed to negotiations with him.