No Reason To Cheer

Darfuri refugees have no reason to celebrate over the supposed deal between the various militias and the Sudanese government. Many of those militias have had the assent of the Sudanese government to commit the violence in the first place, not to mention that not all of the groups have signed on to the plan.

In other words, some of the worst groups involved in the genocide aren't even covered by the so called agreement.

The government of Sudan and the main Darfur rebel faction inked an agreement on Friday in Nigeria to end three years of fighting that has killed tens of thousands of people and forced 2 million to flee their homes, including more than 200,000 who poured across the border into neighboring Chad.

But a rival faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army and the smaller Justice and Equality Movement rejected the proposals and it was unclear whether the accord, signed after two years of African Union-mediated talks, would bring peace on the ground.

"All three groups have to sign up to the peace deal for me to accept it. It's the only way I will be convinced it's a real accord for the people of Darfur," said refugee Ismael Haron, 37, who runs a market stall at the sprawling Gaga camp.

"I'd like to go home in 2006, but I doubt it will happen."

The deal will still take months to implement, which means that much can still go wrong.

Sudan remains one of the most vulnerable countries in the world. And a significant reason for the conflict is Islamists seeking to eliminate opponents including animists and Christians, not to mention those Muslims who aren't practicing the Islamists' brand of Islam. Yet, many reports on Darfur and Sudan underplay or ignore that aspect of the conflict.

And, it bears repeating once again that Sudan was the former base of operations for Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda before they moved on to Afghanistan. In his latest video, Osama called on jihadis to take the fight to Darfur against the infidel peacekeepers (that would be the AU at present, and the UN when the changeover eventually occurs). Al Qaeda would surely benefit from returning to the lawless regions of Sudan, where they can regroup and continue planning and operations against the West.

Austin Bay has further thoughts.

Posted to: Stop the ACLU, Wizbang Carnival of Trackbacks LXII, Basil's Blog, and Jo's Cafe.