"You may have thought the terrible situation in Darfur couldn't get worse, but it has."

That's the assessment of Peter Takirambudde, executive director of the Africa division of Human Rights Watch, quoted in today's New York Times. Already, more than 200,000 civilian people have been killed in the Darfur region by the murderous janjaweed, ill-disguised functionaries of the Sudanese government, in a campaign of genocide. Many thousands more have been displaced.

Now, the janjaweed are carrying their campaign of terror into Chad. Still, the international community does little. The African Union has a force there, but as the Times article notes:

The United Nations Security Council has agreed to send troops to protect civilians, but they will take months to arrive. In the meantime, President Bush has said, NATO should help shore up a failing African Union peacekeeping mission there, but a surge of violence has chased tens of thousands of people from their homes in recent weeks.

The janjaweed are now apparently intent on taking advantage of the chaos in Chad, where a civil war is already happening.

The Times article goes on chillingly:

If unchecked by international intervention, this complex and volatile mix of government forces, allied militias and at least a half-dozen rebel groups in a remote region awash with weapons will almost inevitably lead to disaster, said John Prendergast, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, and an expert on the Darfur conflict.

"The principle strategy of all these actors, both state actors and proxy militias, is to displace people in order to destabilize and undermine the support base of your opponent," he said. "We are going to see an increasing spiral of displacement on both sides of the border and an increasingly dangerous environment for humanitarian workers."

Something must happen to stop this expanding slaughter. Somebody must lead. All of us must speak out. Some suggestions:

• Write to NATO, asking the group to act now. (natodoc@hq.nato.int)
• Write to the President, asking him to push NATO on a circumstance he has already described as "genocide." (comments@whitehouse.gov)
• Pray for peace in that part of Africa and that once restored, aid workers can get relief to the victims of genocide in Sudan and Chad. Because our wisdom is limited, pray that God will send His wisdom and counsel to all the leaders in this situation, including those of the outlaw Sudanese government and their janjaweed allies and that He will also open their wills and minds to His guidance. Ask that God will similarly guide the leaders of the NATO nations, the United Nations, and our own country in this matter.

UPDATE: Thanks to Andy Jackson at Smart Christian for linking to this post!

ANOTHER UPDATE: John Schroeder of Blogotional has linked to this post. I appreciate it, John, and I enjoy the rich diversity of posts on your site.