No way out

Three years and 300,000 deaths later, the world seems no closer to a solution in Sudan. “Haven’t the people of Darfur already suffered enough?” | Jamie Dean

It takes nearly four hours to walk the length of the Um Tagouk village in Sudan's western region of Darfur. The sprawling desert community is home to some 65 smaller subvillages, where thousands of Sudanese spend their days searching for water and wondering if they'll face an attack before sundown.

For many residents of Um Tagouk, along with millions more from the Darfur region, vicious attacks are a brutal reality they've already faced. Three years of bloody civil war have escalated into a calamity the United Nations calls the world's worst refugee crisis. The Bush administration calls it genocide. Since 2003, at least 300,000 Sudanese have died from war-related violence, starvation, or disease. At least 3 million more have lost their homes and livelihoods, leaving scores on the brink of starvation.