March 25, 2007: The region encompassing western
Sudan (Darfur), eastern Chad and the Central African Republic, has reverted to
its ancient status as a lawless land, terrorized by groups of warriors from the
dozens of tribes that occupy the area. Weapons, especially AK-47s and RPG
launchers, have been provided by the governments of Sudan and Libya (although
Libya is not nearly as active in this as it used to be). Government forces have
uniforms and guys pretending to be officers, but are not much more effective
than the tribal thugs they face. It's Mad Max, but with real bullets and real
blood.
March 24, 2007:
The Central African Republic is willing to accept UN peacekeepers, but
Chad refuses, holding out for a police force. The UN is running out of options.
The bandits roaming the region prey on the aid workers, forcing refugee camps
to be abandoned by the UN. It's too dangerous for journalists, so not a lot of
video is getting out to show the extent of the disaster. In the middle of
nowhere, and it's a lot of hell on earth. But without a video presence on the
Internet and network news, it doesn't
exist.
March 22, 2007:
Sudanese aircraft bombed two villages near the Sudan border. Sudan
denied this, but it has happened before (last Fall, for example).
March 15, 2007: In the Central African Republic,
the town of Birao, in the center of the country, was attacked by the rebels
earlier this month, and subsequent battles with government forces have caused
nearly all the people (nearly 14,000) to flee. Over 600 buildings in the town
were destroyed. UN aid workers can't even find the refugees, who are believed
cowering in the bush somewhere, out there.
