John W. Olver: “for three years the Sudanese government and its armed militia have been engaged in a violent conflict against two major…”

“for three years the Sudanese government and its armed militia have been engaged in a violent conflict against two major rebel groups in Sudan. This struggle has evolved into an ongoing campaign of government-backed violence and ethnic cleansing, but the international community has failed to take sufficient action to put an end to these atrocities. Congress and the Bush Administration have recognized the slaughter in Darfur as genocide, but it is time to also hold the government in Khartoum accountable for the horrendous actions against civilians and provide international assistance to the victims in Darfur. To date, more than two million people in Darfur have been driven from their homes and hundreds of thousands have been brutally murdered. Many who have been fortunate enough to escape the violence in Darfur have sought sanctuary in the neighboring country of Chad, but now acts of violence and genocide are following them over the border. The New York Times reported on February 28 that Chadians are now becoming the target of cross-border attacks by Sudanese militia. These assaults are sending civilians from Chad over the border to Sudan, directly into the heart of the violence and bloodshed. The African Union Mission in Sudan, AMIS, is charged with monitoring an ineffective ceasefire that has been consistently ignored by both sides of the conflict.…”