Chad fears spread of Darfur war

[gottaB]

afrol News, 18 June - There is growing evidence that the Darfur conflict is spilling across the Sudanese border into eastern Chad. The government supported Sudanese Janjaweed militia is reported to recruit inside Chad and fighting is increasingly noted on the Chadian side of the border. 69 Janjaweed militiamen were recently killed by Chadian troops.

Authorities in Chad's capital N'djamena are reported to be increasingly concerned that the disastrous Darfur conflict may spread into its territory. Also the UN and humanitarian organisations are worried as they concentrate their Darfur relief work in bases in eastern Chad, which houses over 110,000 Sudanese refugees.

Eastern Chad indeed has the potential of becoming the expansion of the Darfurian killing fields. Ethnic divisions follow the same lines as on the Sudanese side of the border. An "Arab" minority of nomadic herdsmen is opposed to the "black African" majority population of sedentary farmers. The ancient Darfur Kingdom - one of pre-colonial Africa's most long-lasting empires - often included what now is eastern Chad.

The most concerning reports from eastern Chad hold that the "Arab" Janjaweed militia - which is accused of ethnic cleansing in Darfur - is now recruiting "Arabs" in eastern Chad to join their files. Ahmad Allami, a personal advisor of Chadian President Idriss Deby, today told this to the UN media Irin.

Chad fears spread of Darfur war....

[dArKeR]

1. US mulls humanitarian mission to Chad

The US military is considering sending a team to Chad to assess conditions for a possible humanitarian mission that would help refugees from Sudan's strife-plagued Darfur region, a radio report said on Thursday.

The Voice of America (VOA) quoted a senior Pentagon official as saying the US military's European Command was preparing to send a Humanitarian Assessment Survey Team (HAST) to Chad, where many refugees have fled to avoid the conflict in neighboring western Sudan.

The ethnic conflict, which has overshadowed the recent settlement of another conflict in the country's south, has left 30,000 people dead and displaced another 1 million people as Janjaweed militia, reportedly with government backing, attacked black Muslim rebels in the region.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/06/19/2003175700

[dArKeR]

2. Sudanese militiamen who crossed border with Chad killed by soldiers

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/06/19/2003175769