Sudan, Chad Ready For Peace Talks

Sudan said, yesterday, it was committed to peace with neighbouring Chad after accusing it of bombing its western Darfur region last week, but also warned it would not be held back if threatened.

Sudan claimed two Chadian aircraft bombed the Umm Dukhun area of West Darfur state on Thursday, an area believed to be the base for Chadian rebels opposed to the rule of President Idriss Deby Itno.

“Sudan has no interest in undermining Chad’s security,” State Minister for Foreign Affairs Al-Samani al-Wasila was quoted as saying by the state news agency SUNA.

Reports of fresh conflict in the border region raised fears of wider hostilities between the neighbours, but Wasila said Khartoum remained committed “to all the agreements that it has signed with Chad.”

However Wasila also warned Chad that Sudan would not hold back “if its interests and citizens are harmed.”

The Sudanese side did not report any casualties after Thursday’s raid, but state media said that trade between the two countries has been cut.

“Business activities between the two countries halted as a consequence of the attack,” said the Sudan Media Centre, a web site considered close to the intelligence services.

Ndjamena has denied Sudan’s accusations, saying it bombed rebel positions only within its own territory.

Chadian rebels from the Union of Forces of Resistance (UFR) claimed several civilians were killed during raids inside Chad on Thursday, but this was not possible to verify.

The head of the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Rodolphe Adada, said he was “deeply concerned” at reports of a “renewed outburst of fighting.”

He called on both sides “to put to an end to any hostile activities in the area.”

“The ongoing tension continues to be one of the major obstacles to peace and security of Darfur,” Adada said in a statement on Friday. “Good relations between Chad and Sudan are a key to ensuring lasting peace in the area.”

Chad has accused Sudan of supporting rebels seeking to oust Deby, while Khartoum has charged Ndjamena with backing ethnic minority rebels in Darfur.

In May, Chadian insurgents coming from Sudan launched an offensive against Ndjamena but Chad’s army forced them back into western Sudan, where they are based.

Senator Ike Nwachukwu (right) ,NAHCO M/D, Mr Bates Sarki Sule (centre) and FAAN M/D, Mr Richard Aisebsogun during the commissioning of NAHCO warehouse at the Port Harcourt Int’l Airport, Omagwa. Photo: Ike Wigodo.