Darfur
The violence in Darfur shows no sign of ending: After the dust settled from tribal clashes in South Darfur, it appears that 250 people were killed and thousands fled. The rising violence in Darfur is threatening the work of the UN, who to this day still does not even have helicopters to do the work it needs.
A coalition of aid organizations has issued a report accusing the Sudanese army and Janjaweed militias of forcing thousands of Darfuris into slavery.
Madeleine Albright discusses the new Genocide Prevention Task Force report, which the Economist also highlighted.
An incredible article in the New York Times about the role of displaced Darfuri youth was published this week.
Burma
A new graphic novel by Guy Delisle called the Burma Chronicles, documents his travels across the nation and gives a look at the day to day life of people in totalitarian Burma.
More and more people in Burma and the international community are calling for UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to visit Burma and begin strenuous talks with the junta on reform. It is believed by most analysts, however that such a visit would have no effect on the politics of ruling General Than Shwe.
The declining price of rice and the damage done by cyclone Nargis to rice paddies has hurt Burma’s economy since rice is one of Burma’s main exports.
Burma Campaign UK has published a list of 170 companies and agencies that financial support the junta in Burma, the largest list ever published.
Congo
Tutsi rebels led by General Laurent Nkunda refused to sign a declaration to end hostilities with the Congolese government and allegedly threatened Sunday to advance into UN-monitored buffered zones after several days of UN-brokered talks in Nairobi, Kenya. Peace talks will resume on January 7.
Sweden and the Netherlands have both suspended aid to Rwanda after a UN report accused the Rwandan government of backing Nkunda’s rebels. Rwanda denies the charges. The report, released last Friday, also accused the Congolese government of collaborating with the FDLR, Rwandan Hutu militia, and with tribal militias known as the Mai Mai, and presented evidence of widespread illegal mineral exploitation.
On Saturday, the Kenyan foreign minister urged the UN Security Council to revise the mandate of MONUC, the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, to allow peacekeepers to use force.
The Ugandan government reported that a joint offensive by Ugandan and southern Sudanese troops to wipe out the Lord’s Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, from its stronghold in northern DRC has destroyed more than 70% of LRA troops, but failed to capture rebel leader Joseph Kony.