October3, 2008: When will the helicopters arrive? Maybe the choppers will prove to be like the cavalry in an old cowboy movie - showing up at the last minute to save the day. More likely the helicopters will show up and other shortages will emerge. Still, UNAMID may be making headway in its quest for helicopters. UN officials said that Ukraine will provide 18 helicopters. However, there are several catches. Ukraine wants the helicopters to be supplied by private contractors. The UN already has several contract helicopters moving personnel and supplies in Darfur. What UNAMID needs are attack helicopters. Contractors cannot provide those.

October 2, 2008: Call it the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels "get out of the indictment free" card and Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir is playing it for all it's worth. All right, it's not a card, it's a claim, named after Uganda's sociopathic rebel movement, the LRA which argues that the International Criminal Court indictments of its key leaders hinders peace negotiations. Bashir has been making that claim since the indictment request was made by the ICC's senior prosecutor. He especially likes making the claim in front of African leaders and Third World forums. In Accra, Ghana this week he got the opportunity to do both when he addressed a summit of African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) political leaders. Bashir is accused of genocide in Darfur.

September 30, 2008: A UN contractor helicopter crashed in Darfur near the town of Nyala (South Darfur state). The helicopter was ferrying relief supplies, although four people died in the crash. A government report later said the helicopter was shot down. The helicopter belonged to a Sudanese corporation (the Sudanese Supreme Company). A Russian crew was piloting the aircraft.