Deadly fall

International | As bad as the humanitarian crisis in Darfur is, it may soon become a lot worse | Priya Abraham

It's the nature of Sudan's benighted recent existence that when some good arises, greater evil blots it out. These days, the evil usually comes courtesy of the nation's Islamic government. At August's end, just as the United Nations Security Council voted to send peacekeepers to Sudan's genocide-riven western Darfur region, Khartoum's leaders launched a new and massive military offensive there to annihilate rebels and civilians alike.

The offensive violates a peace agreement signed in May, and its timing is defiant mockery of the world's efforts to help Darfuris. In humanitarian terms, Darfur's three-year conflict has long been at crisis point, but the fresh surge in fighting could make it much worse.

Currently, almost 4 million people have been affected by the conflict, and estimates of deaths range from 200,000 to 500,000. But UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland revealed some more horrifying facts on Aug. 28 when he spoke to the Security Council.