Robert Duncan
The first fighting in Sudan in months started Wednesday, between the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudanese government forces. The conflict started when the JEM forces ambushed a food and supply convoy in southern Darfur. The Sudanese Ministry of Interior reported that the JEM forces suffered many losses, while they only lost several soldiers. No specific figures were given in the statement. A conflicting report was given by a JEM spokesperson, named Ali Alwafi, who said that at least 50 police were killed, and only three JEM members were injured, and those that were injured were not injured seriously. Alwafi also said that JEM forces also captured 13 vehicles from the government convoy. JEM’s Chief Commander Suleiman Sandal insisted that the attack was made in retaliation to an attack that was made in the eastern side of Darfur in South Sudan by government troops.
According to UN figures, the fighting in the Darfur region has killed 300,000 people and forced 2.7 million people from their homes. If this fighting is kept up, there may be no hope for a clean separation of the North and the South, if the vote ever happens. With multinational pressure to hold the vote on time, the Sudanese government is beginning to withdraw into secrecy in an attempt to avoid looking weak. The only thing that they could really do to make themselves look stronger is to allow this referendum and vote go according to plan, which could, quite possibly end the Darfur conflict.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/11/20101147317827998.html
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