SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: New York Times - Violence in Sudan’s Darfur Region Dims Hopes of a Long-Sought Peace
The New York Times’ feature piece states that the recent violence that has killed hundreds in across Darfur states is “dampening hopes for long-lasting peace”.
Following the UN and African Union handing over peacekeeping responsibilities to the Sudanese government, Jonas Horner, a Sudan analyst with the International Crisis Group, said: “the government comprehensively failed its first real test of maintaining security”
The rapid mushrooming of the latest conflict from a market fistfight into a violent interethnic episode “illustrates the persistent insecurity in Darfur as well as the folly of the Sudanese government’s premise that security in the region had improved sufficiently” for the peacekeepers to leave, Horner added.
The Sudanese Professionals Association called for “drastic measures” to be taken to prevent further violence, including deploying security forces, disarming tribes and setting up a reconciliation commission among communities.