Washington Post Editorial: Ethnic Cleansing Underway in Sudan's Darfur

 The Washington Post published on 29 August 2023 an editorial titled "In Sudan, a Genocide Unfolds--Again--And the World Does Little."

A new campaign of ethnic cleansing by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is underway in Sudan's Darfur region. The RSF has resumed its leftover business from 2003 and 2004 to ethnically cleanse Darfur of it African tribes.  The editorial calls on the UN Security Council to support an African peacekeeping force for the region.  

Sudan: Assassination of West Darfur Governor Introduces Ethnic Element into War

The Guardian published on 15 June 2023 an article titled "Sudan: Paramilitary Forces Blamed for Assassination of West Darfur Governor" by Zeinab Mohammed Salih and Jason Burke. 

UN sources announced that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and nomadic Arab militias brutally killed the governor of West Darfur, Khamis Abdallah Abbakar, who was also a leader of the sedentary Masalit ethnic group.  The RSF denied the charge.  The conflict in Darfur that began 20 years ago was largely between sedentary African farmers, including the Masalit, and nomadic Arab ethnic groups.  

The New York Times published on 15 June 2023 an article titled "Brutal Killing of Governor Heralds New Round of Violence in Darfur" by Declan Walsh.  

The article suggests this incident may push the region into a new ethnic civil war.  The head of the International Rescue Committee warned that Sudan is on course to become the next Syria.  

Refworld posted in 2015 a background piece titled "Sudan: Treatment of the Masalit Ethnic Group in Darfur by Government Authorities and Armed Militias, Including Incidents of Violence" that provides useful information on the Masalit ethnic group.

Chinese Agriculture in Africa

The UK International Institute for Environment and Development published in January 2017 a study titled "Chinese Agriculture in Africa: Perspectives of Chinese Agronomists on Agricultural Aid" by Lila Buckley, Chen Ruijian, Yin Yanfei, and Zhu Zidong.

The study presents the views of more than 160 Chinese agronomists who have spent time implementing agricultural aid projects in Africa. Technologies that have worked well in China may not offer the same benefits when transferred to Africa. The local contexts in African countries provide a continuous challenge to even simple technology transfer models. Often the effectiveness of aid depends on the resourcefulness of aid experts and staff on the ground.

China in Ghana and Zambia

The latest issue of "Made in China: A Quarterly on Chinese Labour, Civil Society, and Rights" contains three articles devoted to China and Africa.

The articles are:

--Fighting the Race to the Bottom: Regulating Chinese Investments in Zambian Mines by Mukete Beyongo Dynamic

--There and Back Again: Conceptualising the Chinese Gold Rush in Ghana by Nicholas Loubere and Gordon Crawford

--A Chinese Empire in the Making? Questioning Myths from the Agri-Food Sector in Ghana by Jixia Lu

Drought Hits Part of Ethiopia

The New York Times published on 18 October 2015 an article titled "Ethiopia, a Nation of Farmers, Strains under Severe Drought" by Jacey Fortin.  The author attributes the drought to the effects of this year's El Nino, a water-warming phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean . 

Afar Region has been especially hard hit.  About 8.2 million people are in need of food assistance.  It is the worst drought in Ethiopia in more than a decade. 

Chinese Agricultural Investment in Mozambique

The Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies China-Africa Research Initiative published in November 2014 a policy brief titled "Chinese Agricultural Investment in Mozambique: The Case of the Wanbao Rice Farm" by Sergio Chichava, Institute of Social and Economic Studies in Mozambique. 

Critics see the project as a land grab while supporters argue that the investment is a positive force for agricultural growth and development.  The case demonstrates the many obstacles to successful agricultural investment in Mozambique, which are exacerbated by tension between local civil society organizations, the Mozambican government, and Chinese investors.

Assistant secretary of state for African affairs speaks at GW

Image: Ambs. Shinn and Carson. Photo by Jessica McConnell/GW. Ambassador Johnnie Carson, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, addressed some 200 students and members of the public at the Elliott School of International Affairs on February 18, 2010. The Elliott School is just a short sprint from the State Department. Ambassador Carson had a 37-year career in the Foreign Service that included ambassadorships to Kenya, Zimbabwe and Uganda and as principal deputy assistant secretary of state for African Affairs. Following an introduction by the dean of the Elliott School, Michael Brown, Ambassador Carson focused his remarks on U.S. policy towards Africa in the Obama Administration. He identified five priorities in U.S. policy towards Africa.

1. To help build strong and stable democracies on the continent. Sustainable economic development and the prevention of armed conflict must be coupled with the development of accountable government institutions.
2. To support economic growth and development. This must include the full inclusion of women in all areas of the economy. The centerpiece of this policy is the Millennium Challenge Account and the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. In addition, the Obama Administration has pledged $3.5 billion for a food security program that will provide critical tools to African farmers to build local capacity.
3. To strengthen public health systems so that they can deal with the ravages of HIV/AIDS, malaria, cholera, tuberculosis and hepatitis. The Obama Administration has pledged to continue the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
4. To help prevent, mitigate and resolve armed conflicts. There are new special envoys for Sudan and the Great Lakes Region to focus attention on these two especially troubled areas. The United States will work closely with the African Union in this effort.
5. To work with America’s African partners to address transnational challenges such as narcotics trafficking, trafficking in persons, climate change and violent extremism. Extremist groups include local movements aligned with al-Qaeda.

A lively question and answer period followed. The summary that follows constitutes my recollection of the discussion. It has not been vetted with Ambassador Carson. Image: Ambs. Shinn and Carson and Michael E. Brown, dean of the Elliott School. Photo by Jessica McConnell/GW. Several of the questions dealt with the coup in Niger that removed President Mamadou Tandja from office fewer than 24 hours before Ambassador Carson gave his remarks. While Ambassador Carson condemned the extra-legal overthrow of the government in Niger, he also strongly criticized the manner in which Tandja extended his time in office. Tandja not only ignored the term limit provision in Niger’s constitution but then refused to abide by decisions of both the legislature and judiciary that upheld those term limits. The best solution now, Ambassador Carson said, is for a speedy return to civilian rule and an early free and fair election. One participant asked why the United States had taken a prominent role in urging the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions against Eritrea and why it had not done more to ensure implementation of the Algiers Agreement that defined the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Ambassador Carson responded that Washington’s door remains open to Eritrea. The United States would like to have better relations with Eritrea, and it also stands by implementation of the Algiers Agreement. He said he personally had reached out to Asmara on several occasions but was rebuffed each time. He emphasized that Eritrea’s actions in the region, especially Eritrea’s support for spoiler groups in Somalia, were hostile to several of its neighbors and in conflict with U.S. policy. In response to a question about the crisis of governance in Nigeria, Ambassador Carson was generally optimistic. President Umaru Yar’Adua has been ill for months and is being treated at a hospital in Saudi Arabia. His prolonged absence from Nigeria raised questions about his ability to govern the country. When the president becomes incapacitated, the Nigerian constitution calls for the vice president to become acting president. Although Nigeria’s institutions delayed in taking this action, they ultimately did so. As a result, former Vice President Goodluck Jonathan is now acting president of Nigeria. Ambassador Carson explained that the constitutional process worked in Nigeria as it should. A number of persons who asked questions expressed concern about setbacks in the democratic process in Africa. Ambassador Carson acknowledged that there had been some backsliding as underscored most recently in Niger and has also occurred recently in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Madagascar and Mauritania. He was quick to point out, however, that there are also many governance success stories. He cited the cases of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Mali, Benin, Ghana, Tanzania and Mauritius, among others. One questioner asked what has happened to the Africa Command (AFRICOM). The United States announced it with such fanfare and suggested it would be a very different kind of military command with significant policy engagement. In the meantime, it seems to have disappeared from view. Ambassador Carson responded that until the creation of AFRICOM, Africa was the only large region of the world that did not have a separate military command. The European Command in Stuttgart had responsibility for Europe and most of Africa. The Central Command in Tampa, Florida, watched over much of the Middle East and Northeast Africa and the Pacific Command in Hawaii had responsibility for the Pacific region and several Indian Ocean Islands that are part of Africa. AFRICOM placed all of Africa except Egypt, which remains with the Central Command, under its jurisdiction. U.S. foreign policy is, however, the purview of the State Department. The military commands support U.S. policy and bring some additional resources to those parts of the world where they have responsibility. In the case of Sub-Saharan Africa, the African Bureau of the State Department has primary policy responsibility.