Darfur Genocide Just As Bad Now As In 2004

Jan Egeland told the BBC that aid workers in Darfur were "in retreat" from attacks by armed groups, a funding shortfall and government obstacles.

He said that 500,000 people of the 3m who needed help were "out of reach".

The US says a genocide is being committed against Darfur's black African population.

Sudan's governments has consistently said the scale of the problems are being exaggerated for political reasons.

It denies backing the Arab Janjaweed militias accused of mass rape, killing and looting.

Of course, Khartoum does absolutely nothing to actually stop the janjaweed from operating completely unfettered within Sudanese territory. If Khartoum wanted the janjaweed to actually stop their attacks in Darfur, it could. That it doesn't speaks volumes. The Sudanese government is actively thwarting the UN from figuring out what is going on in Darfur, and the violence has spilled over into neighboring Chad, making the situation even more dangerous.

Russia and China oppose UN action against Sudan, which makes perfect sense since both need Sudan for its oil.

Technorati: darfur, dafur, UN, sudan, chad, janjaweed, and Kofi Annan