afrol News, 17 June - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said the deteriorating situation between Sudan and Chad relations threatens the stability of the already volatile Darfur region.

Mr Ban said in a statement that despite agreements signed between the neighbours, in recent months, the Sudan and Chad border has been marred by violence with the latest incursion by Chadian national forces into the Sudanese territory.

“This escalation of violence is particularly troubling as it followed the renewed commitments by both States to seek dialogue and re-establish diplomatic ties,” he said in the latest report on the joint UN-African Union operation in Darfur.

He called on Sudan and Chad to refrain from military escalation and to implement agreements signed by both countries to end this tension. Both countries signed the Doha Agreement of 3 May 2009 and the Dakar Agreement of 13 March 2008.

Chadian rebels clashed with government troops in the eastern part of the country on 4 May, one day after the signing of an agreement to normalize relations between the two neighboring on 3 May in Doha.

Ndjamena accuses Sudan of supporting Chadian rebels while Khartoum says rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) receive logistical support and weapons from the Chadian army.

Mr Ban also condemned the armed clashes which erupted in North Darfur during the reporting period, initiated by elements of the rebel JEM against the Sudan Liberation Army/Minni Minawi (SLA/MM), a pro-Government faction, supported by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

An estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million have been forced from their homes in Darfur since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting rebels against government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories