Safety Concerns

In March, UNAMID reported that a fire was set at a camp in Darfur, killing two and injuring three others. As attacks, carjackings and violence has risen, so has the concern for the safety of peacekeepers in the region. The lack of proper equipment and cooperation from the government have kept these concerns high as the troops continue on their mission to protect civilians.

The Arrival of Necessities for Peacekeepers

In January, the US began moving essential peacekeeping equipment, including water filtration systems and armored vehicles, to Darfur from Rwanda, with the goal of moving over 150 tons to the region to assist in the efforts and support peacekeepers.
Why did it take so long for it to become a list-topper to move equipment into the region? I understand that there is bureaucratic red tape that has to be cut through before the ball starts rolling, but UNAMID had been in Darfur taking charge of peacekeeping for an entire year before this new equipment began to arrive.

UNAMID

UNAMID is the African Union/United Nations hybrid operation in Darfur. UNAMID is authorized to take measures supporting the Darfur Peace Agreement and to protect civilians. Under the current laws, operations will continue with UNAMID through July 31, 2009. Although goals were to have a full deployment of around 20,000 troops, they have not reached those numbers due to various factors, and continuously lack the proper equipment to carry out their duties.

Civilian Protection

As documented here, UNAMID has recently scaled up protection of civilians in Darfur and have significantly decreased the number of civilian deaths since taking over peacekeeping efforts in 2008.
While the peacekeepers are working to do their part, it has been stressed that without political progression civilians will continue to be at risk.

A Shockingly Truthful Political Cartoon

I found this political cartoon to be particulary interesting, because it shows (with blatant honesty) how neglected this issue was. For quite some time, the US and UN refused to acknowledge this as an actual genocide, thus furthering the omission of the genocide.

The Genocide In Darfur Video

It's a video that I found on youtube. It uses some startling images to show the true horror of the reality in Darfur. There are some interesting statistics as well. Take a gander!

Canadian Students For Darfur

I found this site to be both informative and somewhat inspiring. It is a student-run site supporting the efforts in Darfur as well as keeping up on information (facts, details, etc.) on said issue. Check it out if you have a minute. They give some solid information about how this all started and how the genocide has "evolved" (in a negative fashion, of course).

http://www.csfdarfur.net/about/about_darfur.php