President Idriss Deby

© Ministère française des Affaires Étrangères

afrol News, 2 July - Chadian President Idriss Déby has announced his decision not to meet his Sudanese counterpart Omar Hassan al-Bashir for peace talks between the countries. The Chadian leader holds President Bashir never keeps his commitments anyway, making peace talks a waste of time.

President Déby said this to 'Radio France International' (RFI) on the sidelines of the African Union summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, yesterday. "I don't need to meet Sudanese President. I am for peace in this region, but I have no need to meet someone who has never kept his commitments," he said.

Oil-producing neighbours Chad and Sudan have long accused each other of supporting insurgent groups hostile to each other. Rebel attacks across the border in both directions over last two months once again brought them close to all-out war.

President Déby reportedly accused the Sudanese leader of failing to honour a non-aggression pact they both signed in Senegal in mid-March.

Since then, Darfuri rebels opposed to Mr Bashir raided the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, in May, while rebels seeking to topple Mr Déby in June, attacked towns in eastern Chad where European Union troops are protecting thousands of civilian refugees. Both countries blamed each other for the attacks.

According to 'RFI', the Chadian President further discarded a call for all-inclusive political dialogue by the Chadian rebel group National Alliance, saying its members were "not rebels but mercenaries". For their part, the rebels accuse Mr Déby who came to power in 1990, of a corrupt and dictatorial administration.

The Chadian leader said arms and prisoners captured from rebels showed they were backed by Sudanese armed forces, adding that they operated from bases in Sudan. Khartoum. The rebels have since denied these accusations.

Commenting to 'RFI', Mr Déby repeated criticism of performance of EU military force (Eufor) deployed in eastern Chad, which has a United Nations mandate to give protection to refugees, civilians and aid workers.

After a rebel column on 14 June attacked and briefly occupied an eastern Chadian town surrounded by refugee camps under the protection of an Irish Eufor battalion, he had reportedly accused Eufor of "closing its eyes" to rebel raids.

Eufor military commanders in Chad are said to have defended their troops' actions during last month's rebel offensive, saying they protected refugees and maintained their neutrality by staying out of internal war between Chad and rebels.

The President reportedly said he would "draw conclusions" about Eufor's role at a later date in talks with EU and UN.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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