Chadian official: Sudanese troops cross border and attack Chadian army position
By ABAKAR SALEH, Associated Press Writer
N’DJAMENA, Chad, April 29, 2004 (AP) — Sudanese troops crossed into Chad and skirmished with Chadian troops near a refugee camp, the Chadian security minister said Thursday, as peace efforts to end a rebellion in western Sudan continued.
There were no injuries reported in the brief confrontation Wednesday near the border town of Koulbous, 950 kilometers (590 miles) west of N’djamena, said Abderahman Moussa, the security minister said.
The fighting was the first of its kind between Chadian and Sudanese troops since more than 160,000 refugees fled to Chad from the Darfur region of Sudan to escape fighting between Sudanese militia and western rebels.
No Sudanese officials were immediately available for comment.
Chad has played a key role in negotiating a cease-fire between the Sudanese government and rebels belonging to the Sudanese Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement. On April 26 the rebels and the government agreed to establish two commissions to monitor the existing cease-fire and to work toward a permanent political solution.
Officials from the United Nations, the African Union and Chad’s ministry of foreign affairs met rebel and government representatives on Wednesday to discuss the deployment of African cease-fire observers in Darfur. The rebels have repeatedly complained about cease-fire violations by government-backed militias.
Government officials have denied have any control over the Arab militias, which are accused of carrying out massive human rights abuses against the mostly African population in Darfur.
Sam Ibok, the AU representative, told the government and the rebel groups that AU observers could deploy in Darfur in three weeks, if both sides agreed to give the observers and aid agencies unhindered access to the entire region.
The rebels and the government were given two weeks to agree to the proposed plan, Chadian mediators said.
The two groups launched their rebellion last year to demand a greater share of power and wealth, but fighting has intensified in the last four months after a government-backed Arab militia began what refugees have described as a scorched earth campaign, deliberately bombing and attacking civilians, most of whom of African descent.
The United Nations and human rights groups have reported widespread atrocities in Darfur, an area the size of Sweden that is home to a fifth of Sudan’s 30 million people. More than 800,000 people have been driven from their homes in Darfur, U.N. officials said.