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Article: As Peace Mission Nears End, War in Sudan Intensifies; Withdrawal of African Union Troops Deepens Fears of Worsening Violence
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- September 18, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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As the African Union prepares to abandon its troubled peace
mission to Darfur, the region is descending ever more steeply into
war.
Fresh Sudanese government troops with machine guns slung over
their shoulders patrol the streets of El Fasher, the capital of
North Darfur state. Helicopter gunships based here rumble off into
the countryside almost every day, loaded with rockets. And Darfur's
fractured and frustrated rebel forces increasingly are fighting back
against government forces.
The intensity of the combat in Darfur, the western Sudanese
region the size of Texas, has forced a new flood of civilians to