Chad-CAR-Sudan triangle is crucible of violence
August 24, 2007 (Reuters) — Central African Republic’s rebel Popular Army for the Restoration of the Republic and Democracy (APRD) is suffering from disillusionment and desertions after two years of rebellion that have achieved little, observers say.
The rebel group operates in northwestern CAR, which could be covered by a European Union peacekeeping force proposed by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to protect civilians and humanitarian workers in eastern parts of Chad, where hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled from neighbouring Darfur.
The force would also work in the Central African Republic to try to block the transit of armed groups between Sudan and Chad, complementing a hybrid U.N.-African Union force in Darfur.
Here are some facts about the violent border triangle area.
WHICH COUNTRIES ARE IN THE TRIANGLE?
* CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – Central African Republic, one of the world’s poorest countries despite diamond wealth, lies in the centre of Africa encompassing rainforest in the southwest to savannah in the north.
— Its 4 million people have a life expectancy of 42 years and an average annual income of $260, World Bank data show.
* CHAD – Another of the world’s poorest countries, Chad began producing oil in 2003 with the completion of a $3.7 billion pipeline linking oilfields to terminals on the Atlantic coast. In 2005, it was ranked the world’s most corrupt country in a Transparency International survey.
* SUDAN – At 2.5 million sq km (967,500 sq miles), Sudan is Africa’s largest country, straddling the middle reaches of the Nile. Oil was a catalyst in its long, bitter north-south war.
CONFLICT IN THE TRIANGLE / DOMESTIC TURMOIL:
* CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – The country has had 11 mutinies or attempted coups in the past decade. President Francois Bozize, a former army general, seized power in a coup in 2003 before legitimising his presidency through a 2005 election.
— The United Nations estimates 290,000 people have been forced from their homes since the latest violence began in 2005.
* CHAD – A lightning assault on N’Djamena in April 2006 was launched from the east by rebels in an unsuccessful bid to overthrow President Idriss Deby, who went on to win an election.
* SUDAN – Darfur rebels took up arms in 2003, saying the government discriminated against mostly non-Arabs there. Experts estimate 200,000 people have been killed although Khartoum says only 9,000 have died.
CROSS-BORDER TENSIONS:
— Tens of thousands of refugees from fighting in Central African Republic have crossed into southern Chad.
— A rebel attack late last year on the Central African Republic town of Birao more than 800 km (500 miles) from the capital Bangui marked a spillover south of the Darfur conflict.
— Violence has spread from Darfur into Chad, which accuses Sudan of helping cross-border rebel attacks that have worsened ethnic tensions and triggered a flood of refugees into eastern Chad. Khartoum denies the charge.
— Janjaweed militia fighters, allied to the Sudanese army against Sudanese rebels in Darfur, have also staged cross-border raids into Chad and appear to be allied with some Chadian rebels.
— Chad and Sudan agreed last month at a summit in Libya not to interfere in each other’s internal affairs.
(Reuters)