Sudan arrested Chadian rebel leader to support his rival
May 30, 2006 (PARIS) — The released Chadian rebel leader said Tuesday that Sudanese authorities had arrested him to help his rival in a Chadian rebel group to unify Chadian rebels and overthrow Deby regime.
Sileck was detained without charge since October last year in Dabak prison, Khartoum. He has a refugee status in France.
In a statement to Radio France Internationale (RFI) Mahamat Sileick who is freed by Sudanese Authorities at the end of the last week, said the main objective of his detention was create favorable conditions for his rival in the Alliance Nationale de la Résistance (ANR), Mahamat Nour to create a large opposition movement against Chadian president Idriss deby.
My presence in the ANR was impeding Nour’s project at that time.
In late October 2005, shortly after Sileck was arrested, Mahamat Nour formed the Rassemblement pour la Démocratie et la Liberté (RDL), composed overwhelmingly of former ANR members. It is widely reported that the RDL, shortly after its creation, received a significant increase in military assistance from the Sudanese government.
In late December, following the high profile attack on Adre, Mahamat Nour formed a new umbrella movement composed of seven other Chadian armed opposition groups opposed to President Idriss Déby, called the Front uni pour le Changement Démocratique au Tchad (FUC). The RDL remained the key player within this group. The FUC launched a coup attempt on 13 April 2006 from eastern Chad on the Chadian capital, N’Djamena.
Sileick who is currently in a secrete residence outside the Sudan, said Nour is very close to the Sudanese security service. “These people believed he can be helpful in the realization of their project to topple down president Deby”.
Sileick release comes after a campaign in favour of his liberation in which may French MPs are involved. The French Foreign Ministry since last March disclosed that Paris had engaged a series of contacts with the Sudanese authorities about him.
(ST)