Pray for Darfur

One of the biggest victims of the US action in Iraq has been poor black people of Sudan’s Darfur region. The Sudanese government-backed Janjaweed (devils on horseback) militia has either slaughtered thousands of blacks or drove them away to neighbouring countries like Chad.

These blacks — Muslims and Christians — are not of Arab origin and the fundamentalist Sudanese regime has supported this ethnic cleansing. Check out the latest from Darfur here.

The great spectator called the United Nations has been pleading with the Sudanese government for a year. The regime in Khartoum has promised many times to rein in the militia but on the ground the situation has worsened with young children being burnt to death, women raped and shot.

Those who escaped the Janjaweed are struggling to survive in the refugee camps with no roof above their heads, no food in their stomach, no water, no medicine.

So what’s the US’ fault? Nothing except being a strong country it could force the Sudanese to implement what the world wishes at the moment.

But since the US is busy fighting insurgents in Iraq, the Sudanese government has taken advantage of the situation. Rest of the world including the powerful European Union have strongly condemned the genocide and threatened Sudan with sanctions but the option to use force has not been even thought about.

The US could and has thought about that but attacking another Muslim country is not an easy option right now, especially when Iraq is still burning.