Deby asks Sudan to disarm Chadian rebels before normalization

January 11, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — The President Idriss Deby has said he is not satisfied with measures taken to control the Chadian rebels in Darfur and asked Sudan to do more before normalization, Sudan Tribune has learnt.

President Omer Al Bashir since last October has twice dispatched Presidential Adviser Ghazi Salah Al Deen Attabani to Ndjamena to discuss normalization between the two countries, expressing Sudan’s readiness to respond to the Chadian demands.

Deby had said he is willing to normalize relations but demanded Sudan to implement its pledges first in order to reestablish its credibility. Also the follow-on visit of the Chadian foreign minister was delayed until the Sudanese would take “concrete measures”.

The Sudanese government recently evacuated the Chadian rebels to some localities far from the border as Al Sayah area in North Darfur. After this move Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat was in Khartoum at the end of December where the two parties agreed to finalize the deployment of border-monitoring teams.

During the visit of the Sudanese Presidential Adviser to Ndjamena last week, Idriss Deby asked that Sudan disarm the Chadian rebels and remove them from Darfur. He also requested Sudan to expel their leadership from the country.

Deby mentioned to the Sudanese delegation, which included the chief of the security service, that he himself was based in the 1990s near Al Sayah before he overthrew former President Hussein Habri. This statement was an expression of his discomfort with the Chadian rebels being removed just to Al Sayah.

Therefore, he asked to delay the signing of the normalization agreement till Sudan implements these measures.

During his meeting with the visiting Sudanese official on January 8, President Deby “once again reaffirmed his position not to allow the mercenaries to continue bringing grief to Chadian families,” said a statement released by the Chadian presidency.

Sources familiar with the issue of Sudan – Chad relations wondered if the two countries would normalize relations any time soon. The sources said as long as there is a rebellion in Darfur, Sudan needs to use the Chadian rebels in its war against the rebels as it has been doing during the past years.

Sudan may find it difficult to remove them from Darfur while the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) is unwilling to commit to a ceasefire agreement and engage in talks with Khartoum.

Technical security committee is meeting this week in Ndjamena to discuss the deployment of forces by the two countries along the border as it had been provided in Dakar agreement signed in March 2008

(ST)