Sudan update

Darfur has dropped off the media radar, yet the situation in Sudan is getting worse not better. Most recently, the capital Khartoum was at the centre of violent clashes between the Sudan Government and rebels. According to Reuters, 85 have been killed in Khartoum in the past three days. The toll in the rest of the country is 130. You can read a transcript of an interview with Reuter's correspondent in Sudan here. The ostensible cause of the violence has been the death of Vice-President Garang in a helicopter crash. There is a strong feeling amongst ethnic Africans that the Sudanese Government was behind the plane crash.

As I noted in a previous post, Garang was made Vice-President after a peace agreement was reached between the Sudanese Government, which is dominated by the Arab, northern population, and the SMLA, an ethnically 'African' rebel movement from the south, including Darfur.

News of yet another leader being killed in an African aircraft crash will bring shivers to anyone with even a basic knowledge of post-colonial African history. The shooting down of the Rwandan and Burundian Presidents' plane in 1994 was the pretext for the Rwandan genocide. Before that, Dag Hammarsjold, UN Secretary General from 1953 to 1961, was shot down over Zambia in a combined operation performed by secret services from the US, Britian and South Africa.

For those interested, Sudan Watch has an excellent round up of African media responses to Garang's death. Of course, let's not forget Stuart Reeve's conscientous website on the Sudan.