Chad: Hell On Earth

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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.

 

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