afrol News, 31 August - Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR) have agreed to normalise bilateral relations so as to improve border security through joint patrols.

This was announced at the conclusion of a two-day working visit to Sudan by the Central African Republic President, François Bozizé, this week. The visit gave chances to the two leaders to hold dialogues on all aspect of the relations between the two countries.

The Sudan/CAR borders had been closed since the end of last year. The closure resulted after the CAR and Chad - which all bordered with Sudan in its Western Darfur region - accused the country [Sudan] of supporting arms rebellion in the north-east of CAR and Chad.

Sudan refuted the allegations, but Chad and CAR broke relations with Khartoum.

But President Bozizé’s call for the reopening of borders between the two countries was accepted by the Sudanese leader, Omer al-Bashir. The CAR leader described the reopening of the borders as a “positive reaction to my visit.”

President Bozizé, who expressed satisfaction about the outcome of the visit, said he is determined to boost relations between the two countries. He said all the issues that concern both countries have been discussed during the visit.

“This visit allowed us to bring our relations back on the right path. We examined all aspects of our relations and managed to reach an accord”, President al-Bashir told journalists.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council had approved the creation of a mixed UN/EU hybrid force in eastern Chad and CAR to protect civilians and refugees from the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region.

In an adopted declaration, the council said “it welcomes with satisfaction the project of a multidimensional international presence” deployed for a year in Darfur.

The proposal was presented to the UN chief, Ban Ki-Moon. It will be put to vote at the EU Council of Ministers on 17 September.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories