Egypt tries to mediate Sudan-Chad row

Dec 25, 2005 (CAIRO) — Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit has tried to mediate dispute between Sudan and Chad, the official MENA news agency reported on Sunday.

“Abul Gheit on Sunday sent two messages to his Sudanese and Chadian counterparts Lam Akol and Ahmad Allam-Mi within the framework of Egypt’s efforts to follow up the mounting tension between Khartoum and N’Djamena,” said MENA.

In the messages, Abul Gheit called on his Sudanese and Chadian counterparts to adopt the language of dialogue as a general principle to narrow their differences, an Egyptian Foreign Ministry source was quoted as saying.

The top Egyptian diplomat asked the two countries to exercise self-restraint and deal with dispute wisely and not to allow “an irresponsible minority to poison the atmosphere and to plunge the region into chaos,” the source added.

Chad and Sudan have exchanged a volley of accusations in recent weeks.

The Chadian government said on Friday that Chad is in a “state of belligerence” with Sudan, which it blames for a rebel attack on the frontier town of Adre on Dec. 18.

Chad accused Khartoum of hosting rebels and a growing wave of army deserters in order to destabilize Chad, while Sudan charged N’Djamena with supporting rebels in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.

(Xinhua)