Chad's president broke off relations with neighboring Sudan, threatened to
expel 200,000 refugees from Darfur and paraded more than 250 captured rebels
through the streets of the capital Friday after a violent attempt to overthrow
him.
Rebel prisoners
presented in public by Chadian army officials in the capital N'Djemena,
Friday, April 14, 2006. Chad's president broke off relations with Sudan
and threatened to expel 200,000 refugees from the neighboring Darfur
region after parading more than 250 captured rebels through the streets of
the capital following a violent attempt to overthrow him.
[AP] |
The refugees could become casualties in a growing war of accusations between
the governments of Chad and Sudan. If forced to return to their homes in the
western Sudanese region of Darfur, they would find almost no food or shelter and
be instantly preyed upon by militias that roam the land with impunity.
"The international community has been totally deaf and dumb on the situation
between Sudan and Chad," President Idriss Deby said after an emergency Cabinet
meeting. They "need to understand the situation and that enough is enough."
An attack by the rebel United Force for Change on N'djamena, the capital of
this central African country, set off the latest crisis. At least 350 people —
troops, rebels and civilians — died in the failed assault Thursday, Cabinet
minister Gen. Mahamet Ali Abdullah said.
He said 271 rebels were captured, and dozens of them were paraded through the
Place d'Independence Friday in a show of victory. Many were called upon to tell
the crowds how they were either Sudanese conscripted by the rebels, or Chadians
captured by Sudanese and forced to join the rebels.
The carefully choreographed demonstration was designed to support Deby's
assertion that the rebels were just mercenaries hired by the Sudanese government
to overthrow him. Most of the prisoners appeared to be under 25 years old.
In a press statement read on Sudan's state-run radio Friday, the ministry of
foreign affairs said the Sudanese government was a good neighbor and had never
interfered with Chad's internal politics. The ministry called on the warring
sides to resolve their problems through peaceful means.
But the Central African Republic said Friday it was closing its border with
Sudan after the Chadian rebels drove in pickup trucks from Sudan through the
northern part off that country on their way to attack N'djamena. The 600-mile
journey took them three days.
"We were shocked to hear that rebel groups coming from Sudan have crossed the
CAR to go and attack a friendly country," Foreign Minister Jean Paul Ngoupande
told The Associated Press. "The closing of our border is our way to express our
dissatisfaction with Sudanese aggression."
The rebels, in a statement released on a Web site, again condemned Deby's
refusal to negotiate with them. A key issue has been Deby's decision to change
the constitution so he can run for a third term as president in elections set
for May 3.
"The regime of Idriss Deby is the basis of the crisis in this part of the
African continent," the rebel statement said.
The U.N. Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council
both condemned the rebel attack on N'djamena. The U.N. called for both Chad and
Sudan to take all necessary steps to prevent any more violence or an escalation
of tensions between the two countries.
Chad, an arid, landlocked country about three times the size of California,
has been wracked by violence for most of its history. It has endured more than
30 years of civil war since gaining independence from France in 1960 and various
small-scale insurgencies since 1998.
The crisis in Darfur and internal dissension over how to spend new oil
revenues have weakened Deby, who has led Chad since seizing power in a coup in
1990.
Two million people have been driven from their homes in Darfur, the site of
what the United Nations has called the world's gravest humanitarian crisis. More
than 200,000 of those refugees now live across the border in Chad.
Deby said Friday they would have to leave by June 30 if the international
community does not do something to stop Sudan from further destabilizing his
country. He suggested he would insist that the U.N. refugee agency move the
refugees to a third country, but such a move would be logistically very
difficult. Sudan has accused Chad of supporting rebels in Darfur, where Arab
militias backed by the government have fought black African rebels for nearly
three years. Some 180,000 people have died in Darfur as a result — some at the
hands of Arab militias, many from disease and hunger.
Although observers believe Sudan has provided at least some support to the
Chadian rebels as revenge, the insurgents are led by former top military
officers who until recently served under Deby. There has been enormous dissent
within Deby's clan over his decision to run for a third term and how royalties
from recently exploited oil reserves have disappeared.
Army officers first attempted to oust Deby on March 14 by trying to seize
power while he out of the country. Thursday's attack was defeated when
government loyalists used tanks, artillery and attack helicopters to destroy the
lightly armed rebel column.
Abdullah said the army captured 14 pickups used by the rebels, some mounted
with anti-tank weapons, anti-aircraft guns and missile launchers.
Many of the prisoners paraded Friday claimed to be Sudanese conscripted into
the rebel United Force for Change. One said he was an adjutant in the Sudanese
army, while another was recognized by loyalist troops as a former Chadian
soldier.
Some said they had been assured that there would be no fight for N'djamena
once they entered the city.
___