Chad makes call to battle against ‘Sudanese menace’

May 9, 2009 (NDJAMENA) – The Government of Chad urged its followers to mobilize for battle as commanders claimed victory in clashes in which hundreds of Sudan-backed rebels were reportedly killed after crossing deep into Chad from their bases in western Darfur.

“Each and every Chadian man and woman must feel the Sudanese menace as a real threat to his own existence,” highlighted President of the High Council of Communication, Mustapha Ali Alifeï, according to the website of the Chadian presidency.

In clashes Thursday and Friday south of Abeche in eastern Chad, 225 rebels and 22 soldiers were killed, according to the government. Yesterday the army displayed some 100 war prisoners at Am-Dam, in the east.

The fighting culminated in Chad threatening to break off all diplomatic relations with Sudan and refer the situation to the United Nations.

Near the border much farther to the north, the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement, allegedly positioned in rear bases in Chad to assist in the defence of the country, clashed with Sudanese forces in Darfur some 200 kilometers northwest of El Fasher.

President Idriss Deby Itno, speaking in front of the presidential palace in Ndjamena, declared victory over the rebels, threatened to break off diplomatic relations with Khartoum and ordered the closure and seizing of Sudanese cultural centres and schools.

“The deliberate destabilization of Chad by Sudan demands the attention of all Chadians. Nobody should stay on the sideline of this fight for the defence of the homeland,” said a statement from the presidency.

Deby, who hails from the same ethnic group as the leaders of both the friendly Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the hostile Union of Forces of the Resistance (UFR), convened the heads of the major institutions of the government to address the crisis.

“The Head of State declared on this occasion that the regime of Omar Hassan Al Bashir has reorganized and equipped the mercenaries in order to destabilize the country yet again. Al Bashir since last Monday has prompted his loyalists to attack the positions of the defence and security forces,” said a statement from the presidency.

According to the statement, Deby asked the officials to “conduct a broad awareness campaign to confront Sudan and its attendants.”

Nassour Guelendouksia Ouaïdou, President of the National Assembly, said bitterly “The mercenaries attacked the country with over 400 vehicles equipped with sophisticated weapons. Where did they find this war materiel? One must call a cat by its name. Is it Sudan who is the provider?”

Ouaïdou stated that legislators will be involved in “informing the public of the danger posed by Sudan on Chad and its own security.”

According to Minister of Defence Adoum Younousmi, the invading rebel force had about 3,000 to 4,000 men with 300 to 400 vehicles, the AFP reported.

Forces under the command of the current UFR leader, Timan Erdimi, participated in an assault on the Chadian capital in February 2008, though the offensive was repulsed while nearing the gates of the presidential palace.

Last year a panel of UN weapons experts reported that the leaders of the UFR rebels “liaise directly with their NISS counterparts [National Intelligence and Security Service, the Sudanese spy agency] on attack strategy, and ground troops receive their allotted military supplies directly from NISS storehouses along with training in and around El Geneina,” the capital of West Darfur.

The UN panel said that at points during their visit to El Geneina, Sudan was sending up to three daily flights of arms and other equipment to the area.

(ST)