Sudan War Spills Into Chad

At first glance, the hillside plateau above the Sudanese border here in eastern Chad appears to offer little more than prickly scrub brush and grazing cattle. It would be easy to drive past without noticing much at all.

But look closer and the desolate terrain begins to come to life, slowly revealing a massive encampment. Those piles of rocks dotting the mountain? Man-made reinforcements for a network of foxholes. Peek into the bushes and Sudanese rebel fighters peer back. Shade your eyes against the sun's glare, and the silhouettes of rifle-wielding watchmen appear along the mountaintops.

The camp is the newest training ground of the Sudan Liberation Army, one of the main Darfur rebel groups that have been battling the Sudanese government since 2003. In less than two months, the camp has become home to more than 2,000 rebels, mostly recruits who spend their days learning the basics of warfare.

A world away, the United Nations and the United States are pushing a controversial peace agreement to end the bloodshed in Darfur, the vast western region of Sudan. But here this ragtag army of skinny men with plastic sandals and AK-47s is mobilizing for war.

Edmund Sanders

Next stop on the Bush/neo-con world wide "Democracy whether you like it or not" tour?