Rob Crilly - African Safari: April 2008 Archives

Move aside you gangsta rappers The matatus of Nairobi are decorated in many and various ways. By far the most spectacular are those with murals of popular figures on the back. Footballers - particularly Stephen Gerrard - and gangsta......more

The music wasn't exactly my cup of tea - I could have done with a bit more Khaled and a little less Eagles - but it was music in the heart of Khartoum. And that was the point. In a......more

The helmets have been painted blue, but no-one has got around to removing the Amis logos from the old African Union vehicles No-one can doubt the enthusiasm of the new UN-AU hybrid force (Unamid) in Darfur. Morale has risen and......more

[video:youtube:Mvou7v8hiIM] News arrives that Ethiopia is cutting diplomatic relations with Qatar: The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has decided to break off diplomatic relations with the State of Qatar. This decision has been taken after long observation......more

Agache - or chicken and beef kebabs with peanut sauce The Friday before I left for El Fasher found me at a soiree on the banks of the Nile, just outside Khartoum. We lounged around on carpets set beside a......more

When Gerald Hanley left Somalia after serving there during World War Two he was optimistic about its future. A new movement was emerging that put Somali identity ahead of tribal loyalty along with a hunger to improve their lot......more

Trolleys in El Fasher So that's what happens to luggage trolleys at Heathrow once their wheels are deemed too wonky. They end up at El Fasher airport, North Darfur, where they are wheeled up and down approximately 10 metres of......more

Abubaker Kaki is world indoor 800m champion. He trains with blocks of concrete for weights There can't be many Olympic medal prospects who use bits of rubble for weights and train on a track with gaping holes. Yet Abubaker Kaki......more

Sileia's football pitch Sileia in West Darfur was snatched by rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) last year. It was recaptured by the Government of Sudan in February, using Antonov bombers and the Janjaweed to do most of......more

It's been a while (largely thanks to the inability of Kenyan politicians to agree on anything) but now that I'm back on the road it's time to dip back into the Safari Soundtrack. For the uninitiated, it's my attempt to......more

This post is a couple of days old, for reasons I may explain once I am out of Darfur with no possible risk of arrest... "So should we be worried?" I asked the man sitting across the table from me......more

The Liberal Democrats - never ones to fail to jump on a bandwagon just as everyone else is realising that it is a pointless exercise - have written to Gordon Brown asking him to boycott the Olympics opening ceremony. They......more

Day nine waiting for my permit to travel to Darfur. This is usual. No need to panic just yet. Although a pal from Nairobi is in town and approaching day 21. So to pass the time Al Siir and I......more

An open-air bathroom showroomKhartoum is a different place to the one I visited last year. Diplomatic staff are picked up each morning in armoured cars, embassy social events have been cancelled or are happening at random times and "wives" (not......more