DAY OF PRAYER DESIGNATED FOR SUDAN’S TROUBLED DARFUR REGION

Sunday, Sept. 17, has been designated as the Day for Darfur to promote prayer for this beleaguered region of western Sudan. With the memory of Kosovo and Rwanda still fresh, the date marks one year since the U.N. voted to not allow state sovereignty to justify atrocities or prevent international action to protect victims of violence.

The U.K.-based charity Christian Aid published on its website that the Darfur conflict, which began in 2003, has displaced more than 2 million people and left more than 200,000 dead. A prayer rally has been organized in London outside the prime minister’s office on Downing Street where Archbishop Desmond Tutu will share a prayer he has written for the event along with other Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders.

Christian Aid has found its humanitarian relief work increasingly difficult to continue under the peacekeeping efforts of the under-resourced African Union forces. In late August the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling on the government of Sudan to “consent” to a robust U.N. force with the primary role of protecting civilians and humanitarian workers. Khartoum has steadfastly refused. (Assist News Service)