Fresh Warnings of Darfur Disaster

Short Background:

Violence erupted in Darfur in 2003 when non-Arab rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated government, accusing it of neglect. The Sudanese government responded by arming the Janjaweed militia that stands accused of rape, looting and murder of anywhere from 40,000 to 450,000 people. However, it should be noted that there is disagreement as to whether the conflict is primarily focused on ethnic concerns or not; the distinction made in the Western media between "Arab" and "non-Arab" is heavily disputed by many, and both sides speak Arabic and are largely black in skin tone. These labels have been criticized for describing the conflict as one of purely racial motivations, where some experts instead attribute the causes to competition between farmers and nomadic cattle-herders who compete for scarce resources.

Current Article from Reuters:

As it stands, the African Union peace-keeping force of 7,000 is having difficulty maintaining control of things and is very low on resources. The U.N. is pressing the Sudanese government to accept a U.N. force.