Chadian Troops Enter Darfur

Although the Chadian minister Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor has been quoted as saying that "Chad has not declared war to Sudan and has no intention of doing so," the fact that the Chadian army has entered Darfur is extremely disconcerting, to say the least. In pursuit of Chadian rebels, forces have moved relatively deeply in to Darfur, a mere 20 kilometers west from El Geneina in West Darfur on Friday. This is occuring in the context of half a million civilians being without access to life-sustaining international aid. Aid agencies have rapidly been pulling out of the region during the past two weeks especially (over 650 personnel were pulled out within the last two weeks), and this is leaving civilians of Darfur, Chad, and the Central African Republic more susceptible than ever to attacks, rape, disease, and mass starvation.