The conflict becomes more vicious and anarchic by the day as rival leaders lose control of their subordinates and new militias proliferate, The civil war in Sudan is slipping out of the grip of its main protagonists as proposed political solutions evaporate and each military confrontation is increasingly determined by local circumstances, not commanders at the top. The relentless fighting has become increasingly brutal and fighters more ill-disciplined, as freelance militias flood in, tempted by opportunities for plunder, and regional powers support rivals.