Chad blames Sudan for new rebel assault
Oct 25, 2006 (N’DJAMENA) — Chad has accused Sudan of supporting Chadian rebels who have resumed military operations in the east of the country, citing as proof the firing of a ground-to-air missile at a French military plane.
“These rebels entered Chad from Sudan and they could only have procured this type of military equipment within the sight of and with the knowledge of the Sudanese authorities. Sudan cannot deny it,” Chadian Foreign Minister Ahmat Allami said.
“Sudan is behind the rebels. This (missile) firing constitutes an unfriendly gesture against Chad and France, and which we firmly condemn,” he said.
“There is no mystery. This equipment was delivered under the benevolent gaze of the Sudanese authorities or by Sudan itself.”
Chadian rebels from the recently formed Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) on Monday captured the town of Am Timan and briefly seized the town of Goz Beida near the Sudanese border on Sunday.
The rebels have also admitted firing a ground-to-air missile at a French reconnaissance plane, which was not hit.
The attack “is a blow against the normalisation between our two countries”, Allami said. “We will summon the Sudanese ambassador to Chad to seek an explanation.”
“We will support dialogue with Sudan to overcome the problems,” he said. “In our accords there exist mechanisms for dialogue such as the political committee, which we will call to a meeting.”
Chad and Sudan normalised relations on August 8, agreeing to reopen their common border and respective embassies after several months of tensions.
Chad has accused Sudan of arming rebels who tried to overthrow President Idriss Deby while Khartoum has repeatedly alleged that N’Djamena backed Darfur rebel groups fighting the Sudanese government.
The latest attacks represent a resurgence in violence between rebels hostile to French-backed Deby and the army after a period of relative calm attributed to the rainy season in the central African nation.
The rebels are thought to be within several hours of the capital, N’Djamena, where heavily armed troops were being deployed around public buildings and along main roads.
The army said on Tuesday it was also sending tanks and helicopters to Am Timan to prevent a repeat attack.
Rebel leader General Mahamat Nouri said on Tuesday that his forces had no intention of seizing control of towns and insisted they would not attack N’Djamena.
“What interests us is not taking towns, it is destroying enemy forces,” he said.
Nouri initially denied any involvement in the attack on the French plane but then admitted it had been targeted because his men mistakenly thought it was attacking them.
“The guys thought the plane had fired, so they fired,” he said.
Although the aircraft was not endangered by the missile, the French army was treating it as hostile fire since no other aircraft was in the area at the time, French Major Cristophe Prazuck said in Paris.
Rebels seeking to oust President Deby launched an offensive in April before being pushed back from the capital by the army.
(AFP)