troung

Chad to send troops to Central African Republic Thu Nov 16, 2:42 PM ET

N'DJAMENA, Chad (AFP) - Chad is to send military reinforcements to the Central African Republic to help fight rebels who have seized several towns in the northeast of the country, the Chadian prime minister said.

"We must do more to help the CAR government and to reinforce (Chadian) forces already present (in CAR) and to thus beat the aggression by the Sudanese government," Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji said.

"Chad cannot remain indifferent to the situation that prevails in Central African Republic," he said in a speech to the National Assembly in the Chadian capital N'Djamena.

The prime minister did not say how many soldiers he planned to deploy in CAR.

More than 100 Chadian soldiers are already stationed in the CAR, which borders Chad to the south, as part of the multinational force of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).

After taking the town of Birao, 800 kilometres (500 miles) northeast of Bangui, rebels in the CAR progressed to the southwest and are threatening the mining town of Bria, 600 kilometres northeast of the capital.

"At the moment we speak, two columns of mercenaries are progressing towards the towns of Bria and Ndele," Yoadimnadji.

According to humanitarian organisations, several thousand of Bria's 45,000 inhabitants escaped before the rebel advance.

At the start of the month, Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno and CAR President Francois Bozize accused Sudan of supporting the rebel movements fighting against them. Khartoum has categorically denied the charges.

The Chadian head of state is one of the main supporters of General Bozize, who he helped take power in March 2003 by toppling former president Ange-Felix Patasse.

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To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

Alamgir

Uh, this is a forum for Middle East topics not African topics.

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troung

Who are you? No really who are you?? I need to learn this so that we can be friends; is that ok???

You want to respost this for me in the African section here at WAB???? Want to be my friend and do that?????

troung

Rebels, army forces spar in eastern Chad By HALIME ASSADYA ALI, Associated Press Writer
Sat Nov 25, 11:50 AM ET



N'DJAMENA, Chad - Fighting broke out early Saturday between the national army and rebels in a volatile region of eastern Chad, and rebels claimed they had seized the major city in the area.

The fighting near Abeche, 550 miles east of the capital, N'djamena, sent residents fleeing for cover, and humanitarian workers were told to stay in their homes, according to a statement released by the French embassy in the capital.

The area was calm by late afternoon, said Chadian Army Maj. Gen. Adoum Gabgalia, but it was not immediately clear who was in control. The rebels announced on the radio that they had seized Abeche, although the government denied that. Communications to Abeche were cut after the fighting began.

The fighting has prompted serious concern about an escalating humanitarian crisis in a region that has drawn more than 200,000 refugees from Sudan's Darfur.

The Forces for Democracy and Development, known by the French acronym UFDD, is a union of several rebel groups opposed to President Idriss Deby, who first took power at the head of his own rebel army in 1990. The competition for power in this former French colony has become more intense since the country began exporting oil in 2004.

The rebels, who include army deserters and some of Deby's relatives, have had sporadic clashes with the army since 2005 and in April launched a failed attack on the capital.

Chad's eastern region has seen increased violence recently, raising fears that Sudan's Darfur conflict is spilling across the border. The government has said the violence pitting ethnic Arabs against ethnic Africans appears to be between Chadians but accused Sudan of instigating the clashes.

Chad often accuses Sudan of supporting Chadian rebels and Sudan makes a similar accusation against Chad.

The U.N.'s refugee chief said Saturday that the violence is threatening aid delivery to hundreds of thousands of people from Darfur who have fled across the border to Chad.

"The humanitarian lifeline there is very, very fragile and we fear that continuing violence in the region could easily sever it, jeopardizing the lives of thousands of Darfurians and Chadians who have already suffered too much," said Antonio Guterres, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

UNHCR estimates more than 90,000 people are displaced in eastern Chad, including at least 15,000 since the beginning of November near the Darfur border. The few displaced Chadians who have tried to return to salvage belongings have in some cases been shot and killed, according to UNHCR.

There are some 218,000 Darfur refugees living in eastern Chad.

In Darfur, ethnic African tribes accusing the central government of neglect launched a rebellion three years ago, following years of low-level tribal clashes over land and water. The government is accused of responding by unleashing ethnic Arab tribal militias who have been linked to atrocities.

More than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced since fighting began in Darfur in early 2003.

Arabs, among them slave traders, first reached sub-Saharan Africa more than a century ago. Intermarriage and the embrace of Islam by many Africans have blurred identities, but an Arab-African divide persists. It is exacerbated by a lack of resources in the region, pitting communities against each other in a competition for water and land.

-{SpoonmaN}-

Man, the Chadian Military gets around, between this, their own rebellion, fighting a brief war with Sudan at the start of the year and contributing to the various AU peacekeeping missions. I guess they do have france to help take up the slack from time to time.

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"I have this to say to the people of Australia: Kick me, I'm different."

troung

We should start supplying Stingers and Javs to Chad and have them deal with the Sudan....

ruban27

any pics on this

-{SpoonmaN}-

France has a lot of pull with Chad, since they did whip the Lybian Military on Chad's behalf, and lord knows they want to see Darfur settled too, maybe they'll wind up providing the financial and industrial backing. The more the rebels in Chad annoy the government, the more likely Chad is to move on Sudan again.

troung

Troops fortify positions in Chad capital

Heavily armed Chadian soldiers began reinforcing their positions in the capital, N'djamena, Monday amid fears of a fresh rebel attack on the city.

Troops were positioned throughout the capital, cordoning off key government buildings and supported by at least a dozen tanks guarding the main entrances to the city. Schools have been closed and residents of N'djamena have been panic buying in markets and shops.

At dawn a French Mirage fighter jet conducted low-level reconnaissance flights over the capital and surrounding areas.

On Sunday government troops set up roadblocks in Lamadji, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the capital, and were searching cars and fighting-age men.

The Forces for Democracy and Development, known by the French acronym UFDD, is a union of several rebel groups opposed to President Idriss Deby, who first took power at the head of his own rebel army in 1990. The group has had sporadic clashes with the government since 2005 and launched a failed attack on the capital in April.

The competition for power has become more intense since Chad began exporting oil in 2004. The rebels have been able to exploit volatility in neighboring Sudan, establishing rear bases in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, which borders eastern Chad.

Both France and Britain have issued warnings of reports of rebel forces heading toward the capital, urging against all travel to Chad. The Chadian government has denied rebels were about 250 miles (400 kilometers) from the capital and said they were no longer advancing.

On Saturday, rebels launched an attack and claimed to have seized Abeche, the largest city in the country's east, but pulled out Sunday before government troops arrived.

Abeche, 550 miles (885 kilometers) east of the capital, is the base for dozens of aid organizations looking after 200,000 refugees from Sudan's Darfur and 50,000 displaced Chadians. The U.N. refugee chief said the violence is threatening aid delivery.

In addition to the rebellion, Chad's government has in recent weeks reporting violence pitting ethnic Arab Chadians against ethnic African Chadians, mirroring ethnic clashes in Darfur. Chad accused Sudan of instigating the clashes. Chad often accuses Sudan of supporting Chadian rebels and Sudan makes a similar accusation against Chad.

In Darfur, ethnic African tribes accusing the central government of neglect launched a rebellion three years ago, following years of low-level tribal clashes over land and water. The government is accused of responding by unleashing ethnic Arab tribal militias who have been linked to atrocities.

More than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced since fighting began in Darfur in early 2003.

Chad, an impoverished country in central Africa, has suffered from years of political turmoil that have hampered economic development. The country relies on livestock and a relatively new oil industry to keep the economy going.