Sudan, Chad sign reconciliation deal in Saudi
May 3, 2007 (RIYADH) — Sudanese President Omar el-Beshir and his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby Itno signed a reconciliation accord in the Saudi capital on Thursday aimed at ending tensions between their two countries.
The televised signing took place at a summit hosted by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, with the deal committing each of the parties to refrain from supporting rebels in the other country.
The meeting had begun as press reports from Khartoum said the two sides had agreed in principle to form a joint border force and to deploy observers.
Relations between the two countries nosedived after deadly border clashes between Sudanese and Chadian soldiers on April 9, in and around the war-torn Darfur region.
Sudan and Chad accuse each other of supporting rebel forces in their respective territories amid international fears that the continuing strife in Sudan’s western Darfur region will spill over into Chad and ignite a regional war.
The Saudi news channel Al-Ekhbariya showed King Abdullah hosting the Sudanese and Chadian leaders in Janadriyah, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of Riyadh.
The official Saudi news agency SPA said the king met in Riyadh on Wednesday with the Chadian president.
The two leaders discussed regional, Islamic and international developments, as well as ways of enhancing cooperation, SPA said.
In November, Chad accused groups in Saudi Arabia, as well as Sudan, of supporting Chadian rebels in their recent attempt to overthrow the government.
In a letter to the UN Security Council, it said certain influential circles close to the Saudi royal family were “helping to recruit and equip the young mercenaries linked to the mysterious Al-Qaeda on behalf of the Chadian rebellion.”
In Khartoum, the press reported that a meeting of Sudanese, Chadian, Libyan and Eritrean officials had been held in line with recommendations made during recent bilateral meetings in Tripoli.
The reports gave no details on the composition or role of the joint force, but said observers would report any border violations to an office of the joint commission to be set up in the Libyan capital.
One of the reports said Sudan was ready to “re-establish cooperation with Chad and put an end to tensions on the border.”
(AFP)