On Thursday, three international aid workers from the Belgian arm of Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) were reportedly kidnapped in Saraf Omra in north Darfur. The aid workers have been identified as Italian doctor Mauro D'ascanio, Canadian nurse Laura Archer, and Raphael Meonier, a co-ordinator from France. Osman Youssef Kebir, governor of North Darfur State, has said that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom, were not interested in violence and that negotiations are progressing well. MSF have announced the withdrawal of all international staff in reaction to the incident, despite guarantees of additional security from both Kebir and the head of Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission, Hassabo Mohamed Abd el-Rahman.
The toD verdict: The kidnapping comes in the wake of both the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and the subsequent retaliatory move by the Sudanese government to expel sixteen aid agencies. The Sudanese government alleges that the aid agencies were giving information to the ICC, a charge which they strongly deny.
With some 4.7 million people reliant on aid in the Darfur region alone, the UN has said that this wave of expulsions will leave 1.1 million Sudanese without food, 1.5 million without medical care and more than one million without drinking water. After Bashir referred to aid workers as "spies and thieves" in a recent speech, this sudden collapse of aid efforts could mark the beginning of a renewed humanitarian crisis in Sudan. Although there are signs that public opinion in Africa and the Arab world may be turning against Bashir, it is unclear at this point as to how such a dip will translate into action on behalf of Darfur's stricken population.
US strikes Taliban training camp in Pakistan
An attack on a Taliban camp in Kurram in northwest Pakistan by a suspected US unmanned drone has resulted in the deaths of at least eighteen people, with some reports placing the death toll as high as 24. The attack, which was carried out on Thursday night, is the fifth such missile strike apparently carried out by unmanned drones since Barack Obama's inauguration. The dead included at least twelve Taliban militants and "foreign" fighters; the latter are understood to be members of al-Qaeda. Baitullah Mehsud and Sirauddin Haqqani, both high-level insurgent commanders wanted by the Pakistani government, are known to be influential in Kurram.
Tanks move into capital as Madagascan political stability deteriorates
Colonel Noel Rakotonandrasa, spokesman for dissident elements in Madagascar's military, announced on Friday that tanks have been deployed to the capital Antantanarivo "to intercept any mercenaries who come here." The move comes during escalating tensions between Madagascar's president Marc Ravalomanana and opposition leader Andry Rajoelina in the aftermath of the disputed election held eight months ago. Although the mutineers have stated that they are not taking orders from Rajoelina, if fighting were to break out between their forces and those of the police and presidential guard (both at least nominally loyal to Ravalomanana) regional experts believe that a civil war would be almost inevitable.
Obama renews sanctions against Iran
President Barack Obama has renewed sanctions against Iran for another year, saying in a message to Congress that "the policies...of Iran are contrary to the interests of the United States in the region". The sanctions, which prevent US companies from trading with or investing in Iran, were first implemented in 1995. Although Obama came to power speaking of a desire to engage with Iran, the new administration has still emphasised the need to freeze the Islamic Republic's alleged nuclear ambitions, with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen recently telling CNN that "Iran having a nuclear weapon...is a very, very bad outcome for the region and for the world."
US National Guard to counter Mexico drug violence
On Thursday, Vice Admiral (ret'd) Roger Rufe testified to a panel of the US House of Representatives that it may be necessary to employ military force to halt drug-related violence spilling over the Mexican border. Rufe, the Department for Homeland Security's head of operations, identified violence linked to Mexican-based drug cartels as the greatest organised crime threat to the United States. He added that measures such as calling up the National Guard were strictly a last resort, but did not specify under what circumstances such actions would be taken. In 2008 in Mexico 6,290 people were killed in drug related violence, with the toll after the first eight weeks of 2009 standing at over one thousand.
Terrorist plot thwarted in the Netherlands
A relative of a suspected Madrid train bomber was among seven people arrested by Dutch police on Thursday for allegedly plotting to bomb major retail outlets in Amsterdam, including an Ikea store. Amsterdam's mayor, Job Cohen, said that an anonymous tip from a caller in Brussels led to the arrest of the alleged plotters, who all hold dual Dutch-Moroccan citizenship. The district attorney Herman Bolhaar has stated that none of suspects has a known history of terrorism. However, one of those arrested is a relative of one of the four Madrid train bombing suspects who blew themselves up three weeks after the atrocity to prevent being captured by the police.