Darfur

I haven't written much on Darfur as my knowledge of the conflict is limited, but I know that this effort by the Sudanese government to force UN and AU troops out of the region does not presage anything good.

The head of the African Union mission monitoring a shaky truce in the troubled Darfur region reaffirmed that the AU presence would end on September 30.

Sudan raised fears its turbulent west could descend into full-blown war by saying on Sunday AU troops must leave when their mandate expired at the end of the month.

The NYTimes has this quote,

Eric Reeves, a Smith College professor who closely monitors Darfur, said the Sudanese government is working to drain the region of witnesses as it moves into a final battle against the rebels and their civilian supporters.

"No A.U., no humanitarian groups, this is a genocidal black box," said Reeves, speaking from Northampton, Mass. "We're not going to get any observers."