Central African Republic: What's New?

Bangui, CAR. The global community by now is well aware of the situation in Darfur, Sudan; or, at least, they recognize the name, and could probably identify it as a troubled spot. But what if it was revealed that people were actually fleeing into Darfur as refugess from another troubled spot in Africa? Insane? Perhaps, but true.

Refugees are seeking asylum from the civil war that has been on-going in the neighboring state of Central African Republic since 2004. The war consists of the rebel group "Popular Army for the Restoration of Democracy," which is seeking to regain power that was lost in a coup in 2003, though the leader of that coup, Francois Bozize, has since been declared president via peaceful elections held in 2005.

Althoug there have been some promising developments recently, such as the defection of a number of rebels (including a high-ranking officer) to the government army, the U.S. State Department continues to issue a travel warning to all U.S. citizens in the area; violence continues to compound the situation in CAR, already desperate due to a failing economy and languishing social services. As always, it is the common people who suffer most; so what's new in Africa?