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Natsios' mandate is to get a U.N. force of 23,000, as outlined in a September U.N. resolution, into Darfur to protect civilians, since the existing African Union force has been too weak to stop the violence. Natsios said Sudan, as an alternative, could allow the African Union force to be increased and to be "blue-helmeted" as U.N. peacekeepers. Natsios told Christianity Today, "From my perspective, [the alternative] would be an ideal option. At this point, the Sudanese government doesn't agree to this. I think we can change their mind." Right now, there are 7,000 lightly armed African Union troops in Darfur. But only a few A.U. troops intervene outside the 100-plus refugee camps, and they are scheduled to withdraw December 31.

Sudan's president, Omar al Bashir, shows few signs of changing his opposition to U.N. troops. Recently, Sudan kicked out U.N. envoy Jan Pronk, and President Bashir refused to meet with Natsios in October. He also publicly criticized aid groups and the news media for conspiring against his government. Regarding the role of outsiders in Darfur, Bashir told the British Guardian newspaper, "We have no objection to the African Union increasing its troops, strengthening its mandate, or receiving logistical support" from the Arab League, the European Union, or the U.N. He said he would allow a force of up to 17,000.

Recently, President Bashir, facing persistent international pressure, signed peace accords with rebels in Sudan's eastern and southern regions. In the meantime, Bashir has courted stronger economic ties to China. This new relationship provides Sudan with a tough political patron with veto power in the U.N. Security Council. In the past 10 years, trade between China and Sudan has grown enormously, as China seeks new sources of crude oil and Sudan seeks new weapons. Looking at the oil trade between Sudan and China, Natsios said, "Without that revenue, there would be no war." Administration sources told CT that U.S. Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson has convened a joint U.S.-China committee to address emerging tensions resulting from Sudan's growing trade in crude oil.

Flush with billions in oil income, Sudan has gone on a shopping spree for weapons—some of which rebels steal and use against government forces. According to one estimate, 60 percent of new income goes for weaponry, including arms from China.

Many injured refugees bear the "Chinese mark," a wound from a 122-grain bullet of an AK-47 that China sells to Sudan. One disgusted U.S. agent intimately familiar with the janjaweed methods said to CT, "How do they shoot women and children?" He said janjaweed shoot slow-footed, unarmed civilians with light, high-velocity rounds—no marksmanship necessary.

With more than 510,000 in camps, relief groups help Darfurians regain as ordinary a life as possible. Teng'o, now enrolled at an American university, told CT that joyful sounds of weddings and family celebrations are making a slow comeback despite the austere camp environments.

Last July, Jamila, 15, arrived at Otash camp with her two sisters, ages 4 and 6, after escaping attackers who surrounded her village, Deraba. Teng'o commented, "When the attack is from all directions, they come to kill, loot, and burn property."

Jamila could speak when she got to camp, but she seemed confused and stared into space. Teng'o said, "Sometimes, she goes into deep thoughts. She stands quietly, motionless."

Workers offered to teach her a skill—maybe making pasta. Darfurians love pasta, a dish left over from the Italian influence in East Africa. The trade in pasta will last as long as foreign relief workers, hungry for familiar food, remain to protect the camps. When asked what she really wanted last July, Jamila stayed silent until finally saying, "I want peace."

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December 2006, Vol. 50, No. 12