Sudan and its western neighbors

The Jan. 9 referendum in Sudan has tended to focus attention on internal developments in Sudan, but it also has important implications for its neighbors.

Mark Naftalin provides a good analysis in a Chatham House publication of the possible impact on Chad and the Central African Republic.

He emphasizes the fragility of both border regions and the fact that conflict along these borders has frequently been stirred up on the opposite side.

His brief analysis (PDF) also looks at the implications for the Lord’s Resistance Army and past support by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army for rebel groups in Darfur.