Sudan accuses Chad of incursions, supporting rebels

Nov 24, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — For the first time, Sudan accused neighbouring Chad on Thursday of violating its airspace, sending troops across the border and supporting rebels in the war-torn western region of Darfur.

“The Sudanese government has been following with concern the recent developments in Chad that led to the defection of a group of deserters from the Chadian army to eastern Chad with some crossing into the Sudanese territory,” a foreign ministry statement said.

The statement said that despite the fact Sudanese forces had cooperated by disarming some of the mutineers, the authorities have reported “several Sudanese border and airspace violations by Chadian military planes and troops”.

The foreign ministry said a Chadian military plane overflew the Darfur town of Kubus near the border on November 5 and that several aircraft also violated Sudan’s airspace two days later.

It also alleged that Chadian army vehicles crossed the border on November 13 near Talbahaya and Bir Kanjarah western in Darfur and “looted a large number of cattle heads and kidnapped a Sudanese herdsman”.

Sudan charged that it had reported the landing in Chad of planes from an unnamed third country “loaded with arms and munition for the Darfur rebel movements”.

N’Djamena is “fanning the conflict and backing the rebel movements in Darfur at a time when Sudan has entrusted the Chadian authorities to make efforts for solving the problem in Darfur”, the statement charged.

Sudan denied return allegations that it was contributing to the instability in Chad, where an army mutiny broke out in September. A government counter-offensive drove some of the rebel soldiers into western Sudan.

It prompted Chad to close down the Sudanese consulate in the border town of Abeche and its own consulate in Geneina, and send a high-level delegation to Khartoum last week to head off mounting tensions following the mutiny.

(AFP/ST)