PRAY AND ACT

There have been some disturbing developments in the Darfur region of Sudan over the past couple of days. I have written about the situation in the past. You are probably aware of events from news reports. Below are two seperate reports. One comes from Fox News and the other from the Save Darfur web site. This continues to be the greatest humantiarian crisis in the world. Greater pressure has to be put upon the Sudanese Government. Please PRAY for President Bush and his staff that he would have the wisdom to make decisions that will improve the situation. Also, pray for those who are ministering in the area. Please ACT by making your elected representatives aware of your concerns. After Bosnia and Rwanda we said, "never again." How quickly we forget!

September 28 from the Save Darfur Website
NYALA, Sudan (AP) -- Humanitarian groups are facing a new escalation of violence in Darfur, with more than a dozen of their vehicles hijacked in recent days and several employees abducted or critically wounded. Several aid groups are questioning how much longer they can go on amid the spiraling chaos. Most attacks occurred on roads to refugee camps housing some of the 2.5 million people chased from their homes by Darfur's warfare. But gunmen have also struck within Nyala, capital of South Darfur state. A driver from the Christian aid group World Vision was ambushed and his car hijacked in Nyala this week, as was another the week before. Three of the group's local employees were wounded, one critically, in a separate attack on a convoy Sept. 20.

September 30 from Fox World News
HASKANITA, SUDAN — Rebel forces stormed a small African Union base in northern Darfur and killed 10 peacekeepers in an unprecedented attack on the beleaguered mission that threatened key peace talks set for October. Several others were wounded and dozens were missing after about 1,000 rebels attacked the base in Haskanita late Saturday and eventually stormed it early Sunday, AU peacekeepers told The Associated Press in Haskanita.

The remaining AU peacekeepers were evacuated from the base under the protection of the Sudanese army, who routed the rebels out of the area. Some government troops could be seen plundering goods from the burned-out camp as an AU armored vehicle lay smoldering nearby. "This is the heaviest loss of life and the biggest attack on the African Union mission," said AU spokesman Noureddine Mezni. "Our troops fought a defensive battle to protect the camp, but 30 vehicles eventually stormed it. ... The camp is completely destroyed."

PRAY AND ACT --craig

THE TRAGEDY OF DARFUR continues to break my heart. It is an ongoing genocide that demands much greater attention and intervention. The situation has been ongoing for four years and yet the world community seems satisfied with letting Sudan police itself. The African Union welcomes support from the U.N. and yet the Sudanese government continues to oppose their involvement. What we are witnessing is ongoing slaughter and torture that can be compared to what the the world turned their backs on 12 years ago in Rwanda. To give you some background, I want to share some information from the savedarfur website.

Since February 2003 over 400,000 people have died and over 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes. Each day, over 500 innocent people die from violence, malnutrition and disease. The people of Darfur experience horrendous crimes, including gang rapes of women and girls, burning of homes and religious buildings, killing of babies, and other atrocities. Despite their efforts to help civilians, relief organizations have been targeted and aid workers have been arrested by the Sudanese government. Today, more than 2.5 million people are suffering from a preventable humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of western Sudan. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, but countless more can be saved. Not since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of displacement, starvation, rape, and mass slaughter.

Government-backed militias, known collectively as the Janjaweed, have systematically eliminated entire communities and continue to do so. Government air strikes frequently precede these vicious militia raids. Villages are razed; women, men, and children are raped, tortured, and murdered. The Janjaweed also target and destroy Darfurian food and water supplies, threatening the victim’s chance for survival. These people are being deprived of their humanity.

Pray ...Get Informed ...Inform Others ...Get Invovled (see http://www.savedarfur.org/) ...Contact your Congressmen and Senators ...Give. We must do something to help those who suffer, and THIS TIME WE CAN. -Craig

Micah 6:6-8
What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?