Sudan, Chad seek to resolve Darfur bloodshed

KHARTOUM, Dec 10, 2003 (dpa) — The presidents of Sudan and Chad agreed Wednesday to organize a conference of all border tribes that would seek to end violence in Sudan’s Darfur region, the state-owned Sudan News Agency (SUNA) said.

Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir and Chadian President Idris Deby called for the conference after a two-hour meeting Wednesday evening in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

Under the agreement, the two countries would coordinate their efforts to draft a security charter and resolve the outstanding issues between the tribes of the region, Deby told SUNA after a short but urgent mission to Sudan.

Darfur and other parts of western Sudan in recent months have been the scene of severe unrest. The violence, which diplomats have described as “ethnic cleansing”, has resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The opposition said the agreement was just “decorative” and designed to cover up the atrocities committed by pro-government militiamen against innocent people.

Deby admitted there had been clashes from time between border tribes but he said they were due competition among the pastoralists and agriculturists tribes in region.

“And we are trying hard to get them resolved,” he stated.

Al-Bashir also admitted that the on-going insecurity in Darfur has become an obstacle for Chad, saying any insecurity in one country would have adverse effects on the other.

Sudan and Chad already have taken some steps to end the violence. The two countries signed a military protocol in November that allows the Chadian government to deploy troops to quell the unrest in Darfur.