CHRONOLOGY-Darfur conflict, peace efforts
Aug 11, 2006 — Since a May peace agreement the situation in Sudan’s Darfur region has deteriorated. Here is a chronology of events since the peace deal.
May 5, 2006 – The government of Sudan and a SLA rebel faction sign peace deal. SLA rival faction and the smaller Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) reject the deal.
June 1 – Two Darfur rebel groups refuse to sign a peace deal ahead of a deadline set by the African Union (AU).
June 5 – U.N. Security Council descends on Sudan for the first time to try to convince Khartoum that a U.N. peacekeeping operation in Darfur was not tantamount to an invasion force.
June 15 – Sudan says the International Criminal Court does not have jurisdiction over crimes in the violent Darfur region and no officials would be interrogated by the court.
June 18 – Darfur rebels arrive in Khartoum for the first time since the peace agreement to begin to implement the deal.
June 20 – Sudan tells visiting South African President Mbeki it is out of the question for U.N. troops to deploy in Darfur to replace an AU force there.
July 2 – African leaders agree to extend their military mission in Darfur, after U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan fails to persuade Sudan to allow in international peacekeepers.
July 3 – New alliance of Darfur rebel commanders and political parties, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) attack a town in North Kordofan called Hamrat al-Sheikh, declaring a 27-month-old truce dead.
July 26 – Chad and Sudan revive a shaky deal to defuse tension on their common border, where the two governments have accused each other of backing rebels involved in Darfur.
July 29 – Sudan and allied militias attack bases of a new rebel alliance. Many leaders who did not sign the peace formed a new group called the National Redemption Front (NRF), which began military operations in the Kordofan area near Darfur.
July 31 – Annan proposes a large and highly mobile peacekeeping force for Darfur, numbering up to 24,000 troops and international police officers.
Aug 8 – Aid agencies say July was the most dangerous month for aid workers in Darfur region since conflict began in 2003.
Aug 9 – Top U.N. envoy Jan Pronk, says Sudan is telling ‘fairy tales’ to convince people a U.N. mission would amount to a Western invasion. U.N. Human Rights Commissioner’s office said rapes of civilians had also increased since the May deal.
Aug 10 – AU says it does not have enough money to pay its troops in Darfur past October. U.N. Emergency Relief chief Jan Egeland said the situation in Darfur is “going from really bad to catastrophic”.
(Reuters)