U.S. and European media

March 12, 2023

Wall Street Journal: U.S. Says Sudan-Darfur Pact Could Set Stage for Peace.  The top U.S. official on Sudan said a recent accord struck between Sudan's government and a main Darfur rebel group could form a cornerstone for lasting peace in the war-torn region.  At a briefing in Nairobi, retired Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan, played down the American role in bringing the sides together. He said the cease-fire, signed in February, has been the longest-lasting agreement to date and would likely set the stage for further cooperation.

Reuters: Darfur donor meeting in March eyes $2 billion.  A donor conference for Darfur this month is intended to raise $2 billion for infrastructure, health, water and other projects in the war-ravaged Sudanese region, the Egyptian hosts said Thursday. Projects being proposed at the one-day development and reconstruction conference on March 21 in Cairo include building two cement plants, 520 km (300 miles) of roads and 120 villages for displaced people, documents distributed by Egypt showed.

BBC News: Darfur's election dilemma.  Arranging an election in an area where many people live in refugee camps is far from straightforward, as the BBC's James Copnall discovered during a trip to Sudan's Darfur region.

Agence France-Presse: US slams rights abuses in Sudan, Congo and Nigeria.  he United States on Thursday highlighted flagrant human rights abuses in 2009 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Sudan, three conflict-ridden African countries.  In Sudan, conflict and human rights abuses in the western Darfur region "continued despite the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement between the government and a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army."

The Jewish Ledger: State Senate considers divestment from Iran, Sudan.  A hearing was held late last month in the Connecticut state legislature considering a bill that calls for divestment from Iran and Sudan.  Sen. Gayle Slossberg, (D-Milford), chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, raised House Bill 5324, "An Act Concerning Divestment of State Funds Invested In Companies Doing Business in Iran and Sudan" on Feb. 26.

Reuters: New railway links north and south Sudan.  Sudan on Thursday inaugurated a railway linking the north and south for the first time since decades of civil war ripped Africa's largest country apart.  Officials said the railway will provide a crucial economic link and lower commercial transportation costs.

The following piece in Foreign Policy is by John Norris: Sudan Is Still Up to No Good.  he Lord's Resistance Army has come to Darfur, Sudan, and that is not good news for anyone. The Lord's Resistance Army is a vicious militia led by self-proclaimed messiah Joseph Kony, and though he does not appear to be with the contingent that has moved into Darfur, Kony is widely and rightly regarded as one of the most heinous war criminals still on the loose in the entire world.

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