Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) – At just two days from the signing at Doha (Qatar), tensions are rising between Sudan and Chad, thanks to an accord that was meant to help normalize relations between the two countries.
The government spokesman and Minister of Communications, Mahamat Hissene, today (May 5) declared: "While the ink has yet to dry on the Doha accord, the Khartoum regime has just launched several armored columns against our country.” The Sudanese Government, however, has rejected accusations made by Chad, denying any entry of its troops in the territory. “What is happening now inside Chad is between the Chadian army and the Chadian rebels. Sudan has no relation with this,” a spokesman from Khartoum's government said. The situation is a confusing one. The “armored columns” referred to by Chad's Government could belong to groups of rebels with bases in Sudan, who according to N'Djamena, are armed and financed by Sudan's authorities. Sudan also accuses Chad of giving refuge to several guerrilla groups active in Darfur.
Sudan and Chad signed an accord on March 3 in Doha (Qatar), with Qatar and Libya as guarantors, with aims at normalizing relations, which have been tense for several months. The accord called for the implementation of the results from previous negotiations on surveillance of their shared border, to prevent rebel groups, from both sides, from crossing the border. It was also arranged that Khartoum and N'Djamena would detain their attack campaigns in the media. The two sides had expressed their desire to create a climate of trust and adequate conditions for holding a meeting in Tripoli (Libya), for the leaders of the three countries. For some time, Chad and Sudan have accused one another of supporting the other side's rebel groups.
The new accord was reached after months of tension between the two sides. At the end of April, press sources from the government in Sudan accused Chad's army of helping the rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), one of the main anti-government movements in Darfur, the western region of Sudan that has been engaged in a civil war since 2003.
The Doha Accord is the fourth, having been preceded by those signed by the two countries in Tripoli, Riyadh, and Dakar. This accord comes to crown Qatar's efforts since last February, when they began negotiations between Chad and Sudan with support from Libya. The negotiators are trying to convince rebels in Darfur to reach a political solution with the government. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 05/05/2009)
