Killings on rise in Darfur as day of reckoning nears

With peace talks designed to end the bloodshed in the African nation of Sudan just around the corner, the army and its allied janjaweed militia have launched a major offensive in the killing fields called Darfur.

The outcome Monday was the same as it has been for the past four years: death and destruction. And the prospects of peace? Just as limited as they’ve been since the Islamist government of President Omar al-Bashir unleashed the Mulsim militiamen against the ethnic Africans.

The peace talks are scheduled to begin Oct. 27 in Libya and are intended to bring to the table al-Bashir’s government and African rebels who have charged the central government with a campaign of ethnic cleansing.

Indeed, the janjaweed, with the backing of the military, has killed 200,000 men, women and children and driven 2.5 million from their homes in Darfur province.

After years of paying lip service, the United Nations, at the urging of the United States and other western countries, finally persuaded al-Bashir to agree to a joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force of 26,000. These soldiers are supposed to replace the 7,000 AU peacekeepers who have been overwhelmed and unable to stop the violence.

While the U.N.-AU mission offers the best hope for a resolution to this four-year humanitarian crisis, which has been overshadowed by the war in Iraq and the larger war on global terrorism, even it appears to be battling the odds.

This week, the United Nations let it be known that it lacked ground transport, light tactical helicopters and transport helicopters.

Time running out

The clock, which has been ticking for so long, is in danger of coming to a complete stop with regard to the safety of the ethic Africans in Sudan. Without a military and political solution, the bloodletting will continue unabated.

Sudan’s presdent must be told in no uncertain terms by the international community that the 200,000 deaths and the millions who have been displaced are justification for his ouster if he refuses to ensure the security of the peacekeepers.

If there is any evidence of his government encouraging the jangaweed to fight back, al-Bashir must be replaced. He should lead a campaign to dismantle the militia.

His continued presence in the president’s office simply emboldens other dictators, such as Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, who have no qualms about getting rid of their opponents — permanently.

In Monday’s attack of a southern Darfur town controlled by a rebel group, the government’s goal of derailing the peace talks was clearly demonstrated.

The town, Muhajeria, was controlled by the only rebel group that had signed a peace accord with al-Bashir’s administration.

The situation in Sudan is a test of the world community’s determination to bring an end to the crimes against humanity that have claimed the lives of millions of innocents.

This, too, is terrorism, which the free world must fight against.