Global Arab Network | Sudan will fight back if Chad troops cross the border

Translate this article to your language:

GANPublications

e-Publications

Add Site to Favorites

Add Page to Favorites

Make Homepage

Share This Page

RSS Feed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |

Sudan will fight back if Chad troops cross the border

Sudan said it would destroy any Chadian troops that invaded its territory, after Chad announced its forces were preparing to cross the border to strike at Sudan-based rebels. Chad's armed forces will soon enter Sudan to head off a planned assault by opposition fighters around its eastern border, the Chadian interim defence minister pointed out.

The announcement on Tuesday by Adoum Younousmi comes amid continuing tensions between Ndjamena and Khartoum that are threatening to derail a peace deal between the two countries.

"This new situation will prompt us in the coming hours to pass across the border to deal with these pockets of mercenaries," Younouvsmi said in a statement.

"We have asked our troops to deploy and those units which are due to intervene are in the process of gathering around these sites ... The Chadian government will use its right of pursuit."

Sudanese officials on Wednesday said they had seen no sign of a Chadian attack but were ready for any incursion.

"The Sudanese Ministry of Defence pointed out it will not tolerate any aggression against Sudanese lands, and warned that the armed forces would destroy any force that attempted to attack Sudanese territory," Suna (state media agency) said.

The development comes two days after the Chadian government confirmed that the country's air force had carried out cross-border air raids against opposition fighters which it accuses Khartoum of backing.

Seven contingents of opposition fighters were destroyed by last week's air attacks, while ground forces captured 100 prisoners on the border, Chad said.

Khartoum has denied that Chadian opposition fighters were gathering inside Chad and on Tuesday it called on Ndjamena to call off its plan to launch military raids inside Sudan.

"We would urge Chad to refrain from violating the sovereignty of the country and stop its aggression," Ali Youssef Ahmed, an official in Sudan's foreign ministry, told Reuters news agency.

"Chad needs to come to its senses and respect the [peace] agreement which was signed in Doha [the Qatari capital]. We hold them responsible for any repercussions that may arise from such actions."

Khartoum and Ndjamena last month agreed to stop using force against each other.

But Chad alleged that Sudan had helped send armed opposition groups into Chadian territory within hours of the peace deal being reached.

Ahmed on Tuesday denied Chad's accusation, saying the Chadian opposition fighters had received no help from Sudan and that they had launched their attack from inside Chad before the peace deal was agreed.

Background

According to (Reuters), Here is a timeline of Sudan-Chad tensions:

April 13, 2006 - Chad government forces fight off attack by rebels on the capital N'Djamena. Several hundred people killed. Chad breaks diplomatic relations with Sudan the next day.
Aug. 8 - Chadian President Idriss Deby and Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir agree to restore ties.
Feb. 1, 2007 - Rebels fighting to overthrow Deby launch an attack on the town of Adre, before being beaten back.
Feb. 22 - At a conference in Libya, leaders of Sudan and Chad pledge to redouble efforts to end border violence.
May 3 - Sudan and Chad sign a Saudi-brokered reconciliation deal in Riyadh.
Oct. 25 - Chad and four Sudan-based Chadian rebel groups sign a peace accord in Libya. At least two groups later abandon the accord.
Feb 3, 2008 - Deby beats back rebels who got as far as the presidential palace. Former colonial power France rallies behind Deby. More than 700 people were killed in the attack.
March 13 - Sudanese and Chadian leaders sign non-aggression deal in Senegal but Chadian rebels dismiss the pact the next day.
May 10 - Rebels make a lightning advance from the western Darfur region to attack Khartoum. Around 200 people are killed in the attack.
May 11 - Sudan accuses Chad of backing the rebels and cuts diplomatic relations. Chad denies involvement. The next day Chad shuts the border with Sudan.
June 12 - Chadian rebels say they have launched a new offensive in eastern Chad.
June 17 - Chad accuses Sudan's army of attacking a town on its eastern border. Rebels fighting to overthrow Deby say they have pushed back a government counterattack around Am-Zoer in eastern Chad.
July 2 - Deby says he will not meet Bashir for peace talks and rules out negotiations with rebel opponents unless they first abandon their links with Sudan.
July 18 - Bashir agrees to restore diplomatic ties with Chad following a meeting in Senegal between foreign ministers of Sudan and Chad and African Union guarantors of the March peace deal. Ambassadors are exchanged in November.
May 4, 2009 - Chad and Sudan agree to halt violence against each other and refrain from using force to resolve their conflicts, officials say at the end of talks in Doha.
May 5 - The next day Chad accuses Sudan of sending armed groups into the east of the country. Sudan denies any of its forces are on Chadian territory.
May 15 - Sudan accuses Chad of launching two bombing raids on its territory in "an act of war". Two days later Chad says its air force raided "mercenaries" in Sudan.
May 20 - Sudan threatens to destroy any Chad forces that invade its territory. (Xinhua, Telegraph, Reuters, AFP)

Global Arab Network

Add comment

The opinions of the authors in articles published are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Arab Network
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Published comments are the opinions of private individuals and do not reflect the views of Global Arab Network