KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) - Troops from Chad entered Sudan's Darfur region in pursuit of Chadian rebels Friday as the U.N. and humanitarian aid groups prepared to pull some workers out of a key border town, fearing an imminent battle.Sudanese army and police barricaded the town of El Geneina, near the border, to prevent any attack by Chadian forces, a U.N. official said.
"Close the gates! Lift the drawbridge! Batten the hatches!"
There were concerns janjaweed militia were moving toward the town to reinforce Sudanese government troops.
How do you tell them apart?
The Chadian military fought Chadian rebels in Darfur's Tendelti area, about 12 miles northwest of El Geneina, the U.N. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Chad confirmed that it had sent troops into Sudan. "Government forces have used their right of pursuit to cross the border into Sudan," the Chadian government said in a statement.
Chad's Communications Minister Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor met with Sudan's ambassador Friday and demanded Khartoum hand over the rebels. But Doumgor said that Chad's incursion was not an act of war against Sudan. "Chad has not declared war to Sudan and has no intention of doing so," the government statement quoted Doumgor as saying.