Janjaweed Prepares

(Khartoum, Sudan) With years-long strife and starvation in Darfur, it's troubling to learn that Janjaweed belligerents have been gathering forces to the north of el-Geneina, the regional capital. According to an African Union (AU) military source, the Janjaweed is drawing recruits mainly from the nomadic Arab tribes in the area.

The AU source, who asked not to be named, said: "They are massing (north of el-Geneina) ... They have vehicles with machine-guns on top and they're Janjaweed. We can't say what their intentions are."

The source declined to give numbers, but described the forces gathered as a "huge amount of personnel," with pick-up trucks, camels and horses.

So, what's cooking? The Janjaweed, with Khartoum-backed Islamists, appear to be preparing for a focused initiative somewhere in Darfur. On the other hand, a Sudanese military spokesman said the Janjaweed are planning to migrate from the area because of attacks by non-Arab tribes. Frankly, that's hard to believe because it has been the government and the Janjaweed who have been the attackers in the brutal ethnic-cleansing campaign against non-Arab Muslims.

The region continues to be bloody while all the African Union seems to be able to do is monitor by helicopter surveillance. In my estimation, the only certainty about Darfur is that it is a good place to avoid.

From a geographical standpoint, for those who don't know, it's not unimportant that Sudan is closer to the seat of Islam in Mecca than any other foreign country, a mere ferry ride across the Red Sea.