Sudan-Chad joint forces reconnoiter shared borders

January 21, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese-Chadian border-control force has intensified reconnaissance activities along shared borders after spotting movement by rebel groups.

Sudanese Media Center (SMC), which is widely believed to be the mouthpiece of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services, on Friday reported that the Sudanese-Chadian Border-Control Force (BCF) had beefed up monitoring of shared borders.

Sudan and Chad deployed BCF along their shared borders with the aim of curbing cross-border infiltration into each others’ territories. The deployment followed a normalization agreement signed between the two sides in January 2010, ending their long history of mutual hostilities and backing of each others’ insurgents.

A senior military source in the BCF said that they had stepped up their activities after detecting movement by some “insidious cells and elements of outlaws seeking to undermine security along the border areas.”

“The situation is now under control,” he added.

The Sudanese-Chadian force is composed of 3000 troops split evenly between the two sides.

In September 2010, the force relocated its headquarters from El-Geniuna town in Sudan’s western region of Darfur to Abeche town in eastern Chad, where the Chadians took over its rotating six-month leadership.

(ST)