The inability of the United Nations Security Council to address the volatile situation in Darfur has caused tensions to escalate. Furthermore, the violence which has on more than one occassion spread east into T'Chad and now appears to be moving south into the Central African Republic. 

Insurgent militias from Eastern Chad have launched multiple offensives that made it to the outskirts of the capitol before government forces were able to rally and keep the country from being overtaken. There have also been persistent allegations that these rebels have the support of the Sudanese government and launched the attacks to relieve the international pressure that Khartoum has received as a result of the crisis. 

These actions were long expected to have serious consequences but the potential scale had never been measured until recently. The main measuring stick has been how far could this crisis has spread. We have also heard the number of people (hundreds of thousands) that have either been killed, driven from their homes and refugees from the fighting that have fled into the neighboring States of Chad and the Central African Republic. 

On five seperate occasions since the first of the year, the Chadian Army has launched cross border raids into the northwest region of the Central African Republic.

Earlier this week Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental organization based in New York City, released a report documenting actions being taken by the Chadian Government. On five seperate occasions since the first of the year, the Chadian Army has launched cross border raids into the northwest region of the Central African Republic. This is the same region where units of the Elite Presidential Guard of the CAR launched several attacks between 2005 and 2007. 

This is not the only reason the rest of the world should be concerned about the situation in the CAR. There are reports that elements of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA,) a Militia that has fought an insurgency against the Ugandan Government for more than 20 years, are moving their base of operations. These actions go against the Peace Agreement which was reached earlier this year. So in a form of protest, they are moving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the CAR. 

So what can be done? Troops from the EU are entering eastern T'Chad to help keep the Peace. But it is not known how broad reaching their powers will be. The EU commander wants to have the ability to return fire, a right that has not yet been granted. Will there be any discussions about alleviating the situation within T'Chad? There is no answer at this time although some rebel leaders want the U.S. and France to force the current leadership to the table. The LRA entering the CAR may end up being the straw that break the camel's back.

During the late 1960s U.S Military Strategists used the term "Domino Theory" to describe the battle against communism in Southeast Asia. Although the U.S. lost that conflict, the same principle could be applied successfully in this instance. The failure to rein in violence in Darfur has caused unrest in both T'Chad and the Central African Republic. The question about who will be the victors and the vanquished has yet to be settled in this situation, though the fight has seemingly lasted an eternity.

Scott Morgan publishes content regularly online at Confused Eagle, found at morganrights.tripod.com.