If the international community secretly hoped it could stay out of the crisis in Sudan, and that maybe one of the country's two warring generals could settle their long-simmering rivalry with a quick blow, it's now time to face reality. With no clear winner in sight, nearly three weeks in, Sudan's capital Khartoum is being laid to ruin. Civilians who braved bullets for four years to demand an end to military rule can only hunker down or flee, if fleeing is even an option. Reports of militias in places like Darfur taking sides as civilians flee to neighbouring countries are particularly alarming.