On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 14:10:17 +0100, JUra wrote:
>
> Are there any limitationns with going west (El fasher -> Chad border)?
A few months ago it looked like the Abeche-El Fasher crossing was feasible
again, but in the last weeks the situation there has severely
deteriorated. There is right now fighting in Darfur and large unknown
numbers of refugees fleeing across the border with Chad. A couple of NGOs
scouting the areas have reported dire sanitary situations in Tine and
other villages near the border. But they seem lack even the means to
extensivelyess the situation let alone do something significant about
it.
"Diplomats have described the fighting in Darfur as "ethnic cleansing"
with Arab militias, possibly backed by the government, destroying entire
villages. UNHCR chief Ruud Lubbers says some 500,000 people have fled
their homes. The chaos there is in contrast to the situation in the south,
where an end to 20 years of civil war is now in sight."
Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3266893.stm
So it is definitely not the right time to visit Darfur. Too bad, it really
looks like an interesting region and it's high on my list of places to
visit next time I go across the Mediterranean...
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