ONE of the most useful functions of an analysis column like this is the opportunity it presents to flag up an impending international crisis that has so far failed to ­register on most people's news radar.

While many of us would be hard pressed to know of its existence let alone locate it on a world map, the Central African Republic (CAR) has all the hallmarks of a deepening crisis and capacity to become another pan-African war similar to the devastating one in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

For months, the situation in CAR has a been a blind spot of the international community, but in early November the UN eventually warned the conflict was at risk of escalating into genocide.

Over the last few days the EU's top humanitarian official Kristalina Georgieva added to the concern, saying CAR needs up to four times more peacekeepers than are currently deployed to quell the worsening sectarian conflict.

Already France is preparing to boost its force in its anarchic former colony to at least 1000 soldiers once a UN resolution is passed next week to improve security and a 3600-strong African Union force becomes operational. So, just what is going on inside this troubled landlocked African country and why does it matter?

To begin to understand the crisis means recognising how its dynamics are played out on both an internal and regional level.

For years inside CAR, its government has been challenged by a coalition of three rebel factions known as the Seleka. The vast majority of Seleka's leaders and fighters are Muslims, a small minority in CAR that has suffered discrimination at the hands of leaders from the country's Christian majority. That said, many Selaka fighters are not even CAR citizens but come from neighbouring Sudan and Chad.

Seleka's rise since 2012 is in great part a response to President François Bozizé's failure to bring promised development to the marginalised predominantly Muslim north.

Following a three-month advance from Seleka's northern stronghold to the capital of Bangui, rebel leader Michel ­Djotodia ousted François Bozizé in March, before naming himself president in what is generally acknowledged as a coup.

Since then, making matters worse, anger with the Seleka is now fuelling vicious armed resistance among Christians. Among them are militias called anti-balaka who are now confronting the Seleka head on. Balaka means "machete" in Sango, the primary language spoken in CAR. The anti-balaka's attacks have in turn triggered yet more brutal reprisals by Seleka fighters against Christian communities.

Given this dangerous tit-for-tat escalation CAR now finds itself in a state of lawlessness spiralling into what Peter Bouckaert, Emergencies director at Human Rights Watch recently described as "a deep, inter-communal religious conflict".

Armed militia now trawl through villages and towns pillaging, killing and burning homes to the ground.

Like neighbouring DRC, CAR has abundant natural resources, especially minerals such as diamonds and gold. This, for some, is what makes the crisis matter even before the catastrophic humanitarian fallout that has seen some half a million civilians fleeing into the bush for safety. Aid workers say many are dying from malaria, disease and starvation when they get there.

Equally worrying is that CAR, like DRC, is shaping up to become another major battleground for outside powers.

For regional players, the value of CAR lies in its strategic location. It borders five states - Chad, Cameroon, Congo, DRC and Sudan - and has long served as a transit point for smugglers and illicit arms shipments.

As in the DRC, a full-scale war in CAR could eventually cause the country to fracture. Cameroon has already seen violent cross-border clashes. The ousted CAR government also charges that mercenaries from Chad and the notorious Janjaweed fighters from Darfur in neighbouring Sudan fought alongside Seleka's troops.

More than half a dozen ­countries now have troops fighting inside CAR, and more are likely to get involved.

Each player involved is of course there with its own agenda and France is no exception.

Paris already has around 400 troops based at the airport in the capital Bangui. An advanced French base is being established there with a medical unit and air support ahead of the deployment of forces inside the country on the main axis towards Chad and Cameroon.

Last Sunday the French Warship BPC Dixmude left Toulon with 300 soldiers, helicopters and vehicles en-route to the seaport of Douala in Cameroon for a transit on to CAR's capital Bangui. While France is clearly interested in protecting its strategic interests and honouring its political alliances abroad, international legitimacy is a very sensitive issue for Paris, particularly after the debate over military intervention in Syria.

The government of President Francois Hollande is under tremendous domestic political pressure and therefore sees UN backing as crucial to stave off further criticism.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon recently presented a report to the UN Security Council outlining a plan that includes the African Union assuming control of CAR peacekeeping - an effort already underway - and the ­potential involvement of 6000 to 9000 UN forces if the African Union force is unable to secure the country.

And there lies the most crucial question of all - can CAR be stabilised quickly enough to head off all out conflict and the humanitarian disaster that would accompany it? The initial signs are not good, as any peacekeeping deployment will be hard pressed to completely secure the country. The clock meanwhile is ticking, and the violence growing with every passing moment.