ME and Ophelia

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WORLD REFUGEE DAY JUNE 20
CWS calls for Peacekeeping Force, Safe Corridor

June 10 report on UN website from Church World Service states: "Humanitarian aid security desperately needed in Western Sudan, time running out. Father's Day and World Refugee Day both fall on June 20, prompting Church World Service to activate its grassroots and congregational constituency in advocating for international action on Sudan in commemoration of the children and families affected. Peace accords currently being finalized in Sudan do not cover the region of Darfur.

Note: The rains peak in July. One news report today states the Sudan government do not expect the peace accord for southern Sudan to be signed until August - excerpt:

"The Sudanese government expects to sign a definitive peace deal with southern rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) by August, Vice President Ali Osman Taha said in comments published on Monday. "The agreement will be signed at a major ceremony in Nairobi attended by Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Beshir and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki as well as a large number of officials from neighbouring countries and other concerned states," Taha told the Egyptian government-owned daily Al-Ahram. Taha, who is also the government's chief negotiator in the talks, signed a framework deal with SPLA leader John Garang in Nairobi on June 5. Talks on the final outstanding issue - a permanent ceasefire - are due to start on June 22."

Update: UNITED NATIONS, June 14 (Reuters) - Sudan is blocking aid groups from getting food and medicine to hundreds of thousands of people in its western Darfur region, despite promises to the contrary, a senior U.N. official said on Monday.
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Further reading:
June 14 Scoop: World Vision New Zealand Commits NZ$100k For Darfur Victims.
June 14 IRIN The US government is considering whether the mass displacements and killings in western Sudan's Darfur region constitute genocide, according to US Secretary of State Colin Powell.