European officials fail to persuade Sudan to allow aid groups back to Darfur

September 11th, 2009 Darfur refugee says US envoy unwelcome in campsCAIRO — The U.S. special envoy to Sudan is not welcome in Darfur's refugee camps because he has downplayed the scope of the crisis there, a refugee representative said Friday.

August 29th, 2009 Darfur peacekeepers say 2 civilians kidnappedKHARTOUM, Sudan — An armed group kidnapped two foreign civilians working for the U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur on Saturday, a spokesman for the peacekeepers said. The peacekeeping mission has made contact with the kidnappers, who took the two civilians at about 4:30 a.m.

August 25th, 2009 In ads, Darfur activists urge Obama to get tougherWASHINGTON — Darfur activists upset about President Barack Obama's Sudan policy are launching a critical advertising campaign that urges him to step up pressure on Khartoum. The move comes as the Obama administration is preparing to release a delayed review of U.S.

July 24th, 2009 UNITED NATIONS - The UN and the African Union have named a Rwandan lieutenant-general to head the joint peacekeeping mission in Darfur in western Sudan, officials said Friday. Lt. Gen. Patrick Nyamvumba, 42, will serve as the military head of the mission from Sep 1, UN officials said.

July 14th, 2009 Sudan criticizes Obama for calling Darfur genocideKHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudan's government has criticized President Barack Obama for calling the conflict in Darfur a "genocide." Obama made the comment in a speech over the weekend in the African nation of Ghana. There has been a long-running debate over whether to characterize the conflict between Sudan's Arab-led government and ethnic African rebels in Darfur as a genocide.

July 9th, 2009 Kidnappers in Sudan seek ransom for 2 aid workersKHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudan is negotiating with the kidnappers of two Darfur aid workers for their safe release, preferably without paying the demanded ransom, Sudanese officials said Thursday. Six gunmen snatched an Irish woman and her Ugandan colleague from their compound in the northern Darfur region of Kutum last week.

July 4th, 2009 Ireland seeks release of Darfur aid workersDUBLIN, Ireland — The head of an Irish humanitarian aid agency appealed Saturday for the release of two of its employees kidnapped in Darfur. John O'Shea, chief executive of GOAL, said the group had not heard from the abductors of Irishwoman Sharon Commins, 32, and her Ugandan colleague, Hilda Kuwuki, 42.

June 19th, 2009 Obama's Darfur policy lacks clarity, advocates sayWASHINGTON — Human rights groups working to end the dying in Darfur fear for the survival of 2.5 million people huddled in refugee camps if the Obama administration doesn't put on record its plans to bring security to them. The administration said Thursday it still considers the Darfur problem genocide.

June 18th, 2009 UN rights body votes to continue Sudan scrutinyGENEVA — In a rare victory for Western countries, the U.N. Human Rights Council voted Thursday to continue its close scrutiny of the situation in Sudan against the wishes of the African country and its allies on the 47-member body.

June 1st, 2009 DARFUR - A human rights charity survey has found that one in three women fleeing from the civil war hit region of Darfur in Sudan risk being rape victims. The US-based, Physicians For Human Rights, interviewed 88 women who had fled from Darfur and came to a conclusion that rape against women was widespread, Sky News reports.

May 8th, 2009 Sudan: American aid groups considered for DarfurKHARTOUM, Sudan — The Sudanese government said Thursday that it would consider applications from American aid organizations to replace more than a dozen groups that were expelled from Darfur earlier this year. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir expelled 13 international aid groups and three local ones in March after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

May 8th, 2009 Gunmen kill Darfur peacekeeper during carjackingCAIRO — Gunmen shot and killed an unarmed peacekeeper outside his home in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region, the spokesman for the joint U.N.-African Union mission said Friday. The military observer, whose nationality and name were not released, was the 15th peacekeeper killed in Darfur since the mission began in January 2008 and the second since an international court issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's president for alleged war crimes in the remote western region.

April 27th, 2009 2 US lawmakers, others arrested at Darfur protestWASHINGTON — Eight activists protesting the expulsion of aid groups in Darfur have been arrested in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington. Humanitarian leaders and U.S.

April 21st, 2009 UN chief says over 1 million at risk in DarfurUNITED NATIONS — The United Nations chief warned Tuesday that Sudan's expulsion of 16 aid groups from Darfur has put the lives of more than 1 million people at risk and increased the potential for instability in the region. In a report to the U.N.

March 25th, 2009 CAIRO - Al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri Tuesday demanded Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir 'repent' for kicking the terrorist group's leaders out of Sudan and called on the Sudanese people to 'prepare for a guerrilla war against the West'. 'The Bashir regime is reaping what it sowed.