The world has dithered in putting together the necessary political response to the humanitarian catastrophe that has ensued in Darfur since 2003. The latest "breakthrough," with the Sudanese government consenting to a hybrid U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, comes after years of stalling by Khartoum, and half-hearted efforts by the international community. In any case, the 20,000 troops will not get on the ground before 2008, and the peace agreement that they are meant to be enforcing remains a dead letter. So not much is likely to change for the traumatized people of Darfur anytime soon, despite French President Sarkozy's nouveau conflict resolution drive. Sudan's other, older war -- the much larger 1983-2005 North-South conflict, which claimed over 2 million lives and displaced over 4 million people -- was resolved, on paper at least, by the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). But that agreement is now in jeopardy.
Sudan: Unresolved North-South Conflict Risks New Crisis Beyond Darfur
