Sudan briefly detains NYT journalists near Chad
Feb 10, 2006 (SUDAN-CHAD BORDER) — Sudan briefly detained two U.S. journalists and their Chadian translator on Friday near the Chad border, where tensions between the two countries have flared in recent weeks.
“We were detained for questioning for about … four hours. We are now across the border in Chad and are making our way to Adre,” New York Times journalist Lydia Polgreen, told Reuters, adding she was traveling with a photographer and translator.
The newspaper in the United States identified the photographer as Michael Kamber. “She’s acknowledged that they were treated well,” New York Times spokesman Toby Usnik said after the newspaper spoke to Polgreen.
The Sudanese authorities are very sensitive to foreign media coverage in Darfur. Foreign journalists have previously been detained there. They are usually held only for a few hours before being released without charge.
There was no immediate comment from Sudan on the latest incident.
Tensions flared between Sudan and Chad after Chadian rebels attacked the Chadian town of Adre in December. Chad accuses Sudan of backing the rebels.
Sudan has also accused Chad of backing Sudanese rebels in its western Darfur region, where a three year rebellion against the Khartoum government has made 2 million people homeless and sparked a humanitarian crisis.
On Wednesday, Chadian President Idriss Deby and Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir agreed to end their dispute after talks in the Libyan capital Tripoli.
The Chad-Sudan border is long and porous, with few official border crossing points.
(Reuters)