President Bashir of Sudan responded to his ICC-issued arrest warrant by expelling 13 large foreign aid agencies. Most of these agencies opperated in Darfur, and Bashir accused them of spying for the ICC. A United Nations estimate stated that the expulsion threatenes more than 3 million people with the loss of food, aid, health care, and suitable drinking water.
U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary "Hil-dog" Clinton has been quoted as saying, "The real question is what kind of pressure can be brought to bear on President Bashir and the government in Khartoum to understand that they will be held responsible for every single death that occures in those camps."
Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that without a quick return of the NGO's, some 1.5 million people in Darfur will lack health care. 1.6 million will lose safe drinking water and hygeine services, and hundreds of thousands will risk inadequate shelter and other problems with the coming onset of Sudan's rainy season. More than 2.5 million displaced people are entirely dependent upon foreign aid groups for their survival.
This all comes after three aid workers for Doctors Without Borders were kidnapped this Wednesday. Though they were all released unharmed, Doctors Without Borders has begun to withdraw most of it's remaining international staff from Darfur.
As if that wasn't enough doom and gloom, eight gunmen attacked a group of international peacekeeps on patrol, killing one of them. To not be too much of a somber sally, it was the first time a peacekeeper has been killed since the ICC issued their warrant for Bashir.
Former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright added that she "doesn't think the International Community can stand by and watch as thousands more people starve to death."
I will be curious to see if something really is done, or if this will sadly go down as another Rwanda, where the international Community sits back and watches a massacre.
U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary "Hil-dog" Clinton has been quoted as saying, "The real question is what kind of pressure can be brought to bear on President Bashir and the government in Khartoum to understand that they will be held responsible for every single death that occures in those camps."
Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that without a quick return of the NGO's, some 1.5 million people in Darfur will lack health care. 1.6 million will lose safe drinking water and hygeine services, and hundreds of thousands will risk inadequate shelter and other problems with the coming onset of Sudan's rainy season. More than 2.5 million displaced people are entirely dependent upon foreign aid groups for their survival.
This all comes after three aid workers for Doctors Without Borders were kidnapped this Wednesday. Though they were all released unharmed, Doctors Without Borders has begun to withdraw most of it's remaining international staff from Darfur.
As if that wasn't enough doom and gloom, eight gunmen attacked a group of international peacekeeps on patrol, killing one of them. To not be too much of a somber sally, it was the first time a peacekeeper has been killed since the ICC issued their warrant for Bashir.
Former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright added that she "doesn't think the International Community can stand by and watch as thousands more people starve to death."
I will be curious to see if something really is done, or if this will sadly go down as another Rwanda, where the international Community sits back and watches a massacre.
