Sudanese crucible

Sudan: Since 2003, the situation in Darfur has escalated into what the United Nations calls the world's worst refugee crisis but talks continue to stall on how to end the suffering Jamie Dean
Some three million Sudanese living in impoverished displacement camps in the country's war-ravaged region of Darfur awoke on Monday to a stark new reality: Citing a lack of funds, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) began cutting in half its already-minimal food rations for the beleaguered refugees.

While some refugees manage to supplement their rations with food from other sources, many depend solely on WFP for their nutrition. "This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever made," said program chief James Morris. "Haven't the people of Darfur already suffered enough?"

Since 2003, the suffering in Darfur has escalated into a calamity that the United Nations has called the world's worst refugee crisis. The Bush administration calls it genocide. Talks between warring factions, along with promises of cease-fires, have borne little fruit in the past. the rest