Chad security forces mount surprise search for weapons in capital

By ABAKAR SALEH, Associated Press Writer

N’DJAMENA, Chad, Sep 19, 2004 (AP) — The Chadian army and police mounted a surprise operation Sunday, setting up check points and searching for illegal weapons in passing vehicles and at homes in the capital.

The country’s only cell phone network was also shut down for most of the day in what officials later described as a “routine operation” to rid the country of weapons behind a rising crime wave.

“The operation is set in the framework of the fight against insecurity,” acting Minister for Security Abakar Mallah said in a statement, citing increased robberies.

Troops and police recovered “large quantities of arms and ammunition from the military, some handguns and communication equipment,” Mallah said. Weapons seized also include rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, security officials said on the condition of anonymity.

The operation follows one week after President Idriss Deby dissolved the command structure of the elite Republican Guards after some members took part in a two-day mutiny in May. Deby placed the presidential protection unit under regular army command.

Observers say the mutiny may have been related to dissatisfaction over Chad’s refusal to intervene in neighboring Sudan to help black Africans targeted by Arab militia attacks in the Darfur region.

Chadians of the same ethnic group as Darfur’s African tribes people want Chad to do more to help those affected by violence, which the United Nations says has forced more than 1.2 million people to flee their homes and killed more than 50,000 others.

Deby has been aiding mediation efforts in the conflict. The two sides signed a cease-fire agreement April 8 in N’djamena, the Chadian capital, but raids by the Arab militia known as Janjaweed have continued.