Bathed in the blood of more than 200,000 innocents, Darfur has put the world at shame. Screaming with wounds of rape, murder and devastation, the region is an epitome of the world’s worst humanitarian emergency. Arab Janjaweed militiamen, along with the government, are on a full-fledged slaughter of the non-Arab black African population, consisting mainly ethnic African groups who rebelled against the Arab-dominated government in early 2003 claiming discrimination. More than 2.5 million people have been displaced and lakhs are dead in these three years of bloodshed.

Yesterday itself, militiamen on horseback ambushed a refugee band and executed 30 civilians; some were burned alive. In a recent horrific incident, militiamen gang-raped girls as young as eight in a school. Apart from brutal killings, mass rapes in Darfur have come up as the most effective weapon used to terrorize tribal populations.

Government: A complete failure

Peace seems a dream for now here, as the Khartoum regime is totally against the replacement of African Union peacekeepers, who have done little to stabilize the situation, with a combined U.N. and African forces. Even civilians have sensed the complete failure of the situation and have unleashed constant attacks on African Union peacekeepers, even abducting them many a times.

The dummy government under President Omar Hassan al-Bashir seems to be under full control of the militiamen, however, the officials deny any joint participation. But, the truth is, they are helpless and not equipped enough either to suppress the rebel or the Janjaweed and provide protection to the civilians. Apparently, Janjaweed is taking full advantage of the situation and have crippled the innards of the government.

Speaking on the eve of Human Rights Day on Sunday, President Bush too acknowledged the atrocities taking place in Darfur region. The fact that now the violence has crossed borders, spreading in the neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic, the deteriorated situation calls for action rather than hollow promises by the UN.

No quick fix answer in sight

We’ve to accept that the people in Sudan are trapped in the mayhem and it demands quick response from the international community. However, we’ve failed in this respect; both the UN and the African Union have not been able to put sufficient pressure on the Sudanese government to curb the genocide.

The UN Security Council passed many resolutions to check the human right violation in the region, but failed to implement any one of these, especially the latest resolution 1706, which authorized a UN deployment in Darfur. The key African states have to raise their voice and put more pressure on the UN and the newly created United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, which apparently is being formulated to confront the crimes of the 21st century, to mobilize efforts. However, is the three years of bloodshed not enough to ring the alarm?

Check out Google Earth images of the Darfur Genocide here.

Via: Business Day