 Chad's government has announced it has cut off diplomatic relations with Sudan after repelling a rebel attack on the capital, N'Djamena on Thursday. Sudan denies Chad's accusations that it backs the United Force for Change rebels, who were beaten back by troops after launching a daring dawn raid. On Friday, Chad paraded 160 captives, said to be rebels, in a public square while crowds and soldiers looked on. A minister said 300 prisoners had been captured and some 400 killed in total. | They ran pictures yesterday of government troops dumpng dead rebels on the capital steps. Looks like they did win this one, so far |
"We have taken the decision to break our diplomatic relations with Sudan today and to proceed to close our frontiers," Chadian President Idriss Deby told a rally in N'Djamena. Sudan has served as a base for Chadian rebels. The BBC's Stephanie Hancock says the parading of prisoners was a carefully choreographed affair, sending a clear message that the rebels had been subdued and the capital was under control. The United Nations Security Council has condemned Thursday's attack, which was aimed at toppling President Deby.
Earlier on Friday, Chadian Defence Minister Bichara Issa Djadallah said 150 people on the rebel side had been killed in fighting in the town of Adre, near the Sudanese border. "All attackers withdrew into Sudan," the minister said in an interview with Radio France Internationale. The rebels have vowed to overthrow Mr Deby before the polls, which the opposition are boycotting. The rebels accuse Mr Deby of being a dictator and say they want to organise a national forum that will lead to a transitional government and then democratic elections. A spokesman for the rebels told the BBC they had not been defeated and would attack N'Djamena again. Chad accuses Sudan of supporting and arming the attackers while Sudan says Chad backs rebels in its Darfur region. The UN Security Council urged both nations to resolve differences through talks and not support hostile actions. The council "condemned any attempt to seize power by force... and calls on the rebels to put an end to violence and to participate in the democratic process". UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was "greatly troubled by the worsening security situation in Chad". | "And we shall look at it most carefully first thing Monday morning. It's a holiday weekend, you know." |
Gunfire and shelling in the capital began at dawn on Thursday, and fighting in the city continued for more than two hours. Mr Deby said a small rebel column attempted to enter the capital but was "completely destroyed". | Wonder if those French troops have any recon drones and passed the info to Chad? |
He said elections scheduled for early next month would go ahead as planned. Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, the UN envoy from France, which has some 1,350 troops in its former colony, said the rebels came from Sudan's Darfur region. Chad, which is rich in oil, has been hit by the conflict in Darfur, with hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing across the border. |