Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Daily Update: Refugees forced from camp

Brede Eschilman

On the ground: UN officials have confirmed that hundreds of refugees were forcibly removed from the Otash camp, outside of Nyala, on Sunday.  Some refugees were forced into vehicles and many others fled.  Those who fled have not yet been found.

Diplomatically:  British lawmakers sent a letter to the Chinese Embassy in London Monday pressuring China to act in Darfur by supporting a peacekeeping force and halting the sale of weapons to Sudan.  Chinese officials responded by expressing their disapproval of the letter’s linking the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the genocide in Darfur.
President Bush, while meeting with the visiting Ugandan president yesterday, discussed his request to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for the timely deployment of the UNAMID peacekeeping force. 

Public response:  Amr Mussa, Arab League chief, has announced that an Arab conference on Darfur held in Khartoum has pledged 250 million dollars to go towards humanitarian relief in Darfur.