Sudan arrests Chadian opposition ANR leader

Nov 15, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese authorities arrested a leader of a Chadian opposition group when he was in Khartoum for private reasons, a blog dedicated to his release said.

The president of the Chadian opposition Alliance Nationale de la Résistance (ANR) Mohamat Abbo Seleck was arrested while he was in Sudan for private reasons, a blog dedicated to Mohamat Sileck said.

The date of the detention is still unknown. Meanwhile sources close to the Chadian opposition in Paris said he is in arrest since two weeks.

In a press release issued in Khartoum, the ANR leader denied any relation with the newly formed rebel group called SCUD. Sileck said what happens in N’djamena is a “family problem” between the members of the ruling Zagawa ethnic group.

Nonetheless another source said ANR troops are very active near the border, and this detention may come to cool down the Chadian anger.

On 26 October 2005, Chadian president and his Defence minister Mahamat Ali Abdallah Nassour demanded Khartoum to disarm Chad’s rebels groups inside the Sudan specially in Darfur region. “We hope the Sudanese government will disarm them as soon as possible or will let us do so instead.” Nassour warned.

N’djamena accused Sudan in the past months of harbouring Chadian opposition.

“The reasons of this arrest, which took place about fifteen days ago, are still unknown” The press statement said.

Sileck leaves in exile in France.

Sudan has arrested and disarmed more than 20 Chadian army defectors near the common border after a September mutiny in the east of the country, said an official on Wednesday 2 November.

Head of the central and western Africa office for the ruling National Congress, Hassan Bergu, told Reuters that the arrests were line in with a security agreement between Khartoum and Ndjamena under which the two governments undertook not to provide refuge for each other’s armed opponents.

(ST)