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The Sudanese government and two rebel groups operating out of the Darfur region opened talks on July 15th in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. Two days later, the rebel groups pulled out of the African Union-mediated peace efforts, saying they would not return until the Sudanese government fulfilled conditions set for the talks.

July 23rd the US Congress declared the mass killing of civilians in Darfur to be genocide. In a non-binding resolution, lawmakers urged President Bush to do the same. Thus far the Bush administration has declined to label the situation in Darfur a genocide. The 1948 United Nations Convention on Genocide would require that such a classification of genocide justify an intervention by all signatories. The Pentagon made it clear that there are no US plans to intervene in the conflict militarily.

The AU's peace and security council announced in a meeting in Addis Ababa on July 27th that it is actively considering expanding the military observer mission into a multinational peacekeeping force with particular emphasis on disarming the Janjaweed if the Sudanese government does not do so.

African Union military observers in Darfur reported that Sudanese militias have burned civilians alive.

This would be the AU's first military intervention in a member state.

The Arab League told the Security Council to "avoid precipitate action" and give Sudan more time to honor its pledges

"African solution" to Darfur at a special summit in Ghana on July 29th called by the AU Chairman, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria. The AU requested British and Dutch assistance in airlifting 300 African troops to Sudan.

A Declaration of Principles for the Resolution of the Sudanese Conflict in Darfur was signed in July 2005.

The African Union played a pivotal role in successfully mediating the talks.

Taken together, the Declaration of Principles and the 9 July 2005 installation of the Presidency of the Government of National Unity constituted significant progress toward the goal of achieving peace throughout Sudan

As of September 23, 2005 the situation in Sudan remained dire. Since the eruption of violence in the Darfur region in February of 2003, the ongoing battle between the rebel forces and government backed Janjaweed has driven an estimated 2 million natives from their home with some 200,000 fleeing into neighboring chad. The fighting as well as the killing of civilians and the miserable conditions of refugees has been responsible for 180,000 deaths.

As of the beginning of February 2006, the UN Security Council asked Kofi Annan, to "initiate contingency planning" and to produce various options in consultation with the AU, for UN peacekeeping operations. Around the same time, which helped spur on the UN Security Council intitative, was the fact that 70,000 people fled the town of Mershing, after militiamen attacked. Talk of NATO reinforcements had also been expressed that time.

As of the end of July 2006, the Khartoum government has been slow to approve and grant permission to let UN officials and troops into Darfur, Sudan. The prospects of UN peacekeeping forces remains grim, unless the Sudanese government relinquishes their obstinate stance.

In August 2006, the Sudanese government rejected a UN resolution authorizing a peacekeeping force in Darfur on the grounds that it would be a violation of Sudanese sovereignty. The plan would enlarge the current force from 7,000 to 20,000. On September 3, Khartoum asked the African Union force to leave the country when at the end of its mandate.

On the 17th, Sudan said it would welcome a hybrid UN-AU force as long as the UN was not in command. Specifically, the Sudan said it would accept “all financial, material, logistic, or technical assistance from the UN in order to strengthen the AU mission in Darfur.” On the same day, Chad proposed an anti-Sudan alliance with the Central African Republic (CAR). The CAR and Chad have accused Sudan of backing rebels fighting against the CAR government.

The May 5th Darfur Peace Agreement, allows the UN to send peacekeepers to support the existing AU forces in Sudan. The first phase of the provision was initiated on Jan 11, 2007. This phase

In addition, the first phase includes military advisors, police officers, and civilian staff from the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). The second stage of the process calls for staff workers and more equipment

The third phase covers the deployment of some 17,000 troops and 3,000 police officers to support or replace the under-staffed AU missions, creating a hybrid, UN-AU peacekeeping force.

The violence in Sudan has continued to increase, and as even turned on Humanitarian Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), killing aid workers, and disrupting humanitarian aid. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the 13 NGOs in Sudan have reported that as of July 2006, 12 relief workers have been killed. This is more than those workers killed in the last two years, combined. In addition, armed bands have attacked numerous NGO sites, and United Nations compounds. The violence toward aid workers has greatly reduced the scope of aid operations all across the region, compromising food, water, and medical services all across Darfur.

Human rights groups describe the situation in Darfur as a genocide

The UN Security Council was also to discuss possible sanctions against Sudan

The Darfur crisis threatened to become a regional conflict on 7 November 2006 when Chad accused Sudan of “exporting the genocide.” In the week prior to this announcement, 200 people were killed attacks on villages just inside the Chadian border. Chad declared a state of emergency on the 13th and was backed by a UN warning against the incursion.

On January 11, 2007, talks between Jan Eliasson and President Omar el-Bashir, Sudan's President, have shown commitment to the resolution to put UN peacekeepers in Darfur, to aid in quelling the violence that has again erupted in Sudan. Jan Eliasson is the United Nations Secretary-General's special envoy to Darfur

called for equipment and supplies to be delivered to the African Mission in Sudan (AMIS

As of January 12, 2007, the fighting in Darfur has claimed the lives of over 200,000 people, and forced some 2.5 million people from their homes, many seeking refuge in neighboring Chad. As of January 12, 2007 the government of Sudan as continually rejected a UN presence in the country. They have allowed, as per the Darfur Peace Agreement, UN peacekeeping troops into the country. However, these troops were only admitted as long as they were under AU command, and in support positions. These troops are mainly placed in technical support positions. Independent UN peacekeeping missions have been expressly forbidden.