U.S. and European Media

July 18, 2023

Associated Press: U.N. Head: Efforts on Darfur Increasing. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told President Bush on Tuesday the United Nations is speeding up efforts to find a political solution to the four-year conflict in Darfur that has killed more than 200,000 people. ''We have made considerable progress, and we are going to step up the political process,'' Ban said while seated with Bush in the Oval Office. Ban cited positive talks seeking peace that U.N. and African Union envoys had this week in Libya, adding that another meeting to find a political solution would be in early August in Arusha, Tanzania. ''We are also going to facilitate humanitarian assistance. I'm going to step up efforts to deploy hybrid operations as soon as possible in Darfur to resolve this issue as soon as possible. In that regard, I appreciate U.S. government strong support in this matter,'' Ban said.

The Guardian: EU troops to help Darfur refugees. European Union governments will next week give the green light for 3,000 troops to be sent to Chad to protect refugees from the neighbouring Darfur region of Sudan and help demobilise thousands of children forced to take up arms. Human rights and aid organisations yesterday pressed EU foreign ministers, who meet in Brussels on Monday, to set "robust" rules of engagement for the troops, enabling them to fire when they and refugees are under attack and to arrest wanted war criminals. The EU is expected to give the final go-ahead for the mission after the UN adopts a resolution - expected next month or early in September - calling for a 26,000-strong African Union-UN force for Darfur. The mission, a French initiative discussed by EU officials with the UN head of peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guehenno, yesterday, would last six to 12 months. Mr Guehenno told Reuters he hoped the EU would protect a corridor 560 miles by 125-250 miles in Chad and said he expected ministers to send a "strong signal" that would allow the UN to begin detailed planning. According to Lotte Leicht, EU director of Human Rights Watch, the mission would eventually be replaced by 1,300 police, including 300 from overseas.

BBC: Water find 'may end Darfur war'. A huge underground lake has been found in Sudan's Darfur region, scientists say, which they believe could help end the conflict in the arid region. Some 1,000 wells will be drilled in the region, with the agreement of Sudan's government, the Boston University researchers say. "Much of the unrest in Darfur and the misery is due to water shortages," said geologist Farouk El-Baz, director of the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing, according to the AP news agency. "Access to fresh water is essential for refugee survival, will help the peace process, and provides the necessary resources for the much needed economic development in Darfur," he said. A similar discovery was made in Sudan's neighbour Egypt, where wells have been used to irrigate 150,000 acres of farmland, the researchers say.

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