Battle rages for Chadian capital

[bemildred]

Source: al Jazeera

Fighting between government forces and an armed opposition alliance has reached Chad's capital, Ndjamena, with foreigners under armed guard by French forces.

Gunfire and shelling near the presidential palace shook the city on Saturday and expatriates from France, the UK and US have assembled in hotels before a possible evacuation.

"The fighting has reached Ndjamena," Haru Mutasa, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Ndjamena, reported.

"People expected the fighting to stay 30km away and it came as a surprise that it came so quickly."


Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/25EB5D4A-6A11-4C3F-A9AD-233C73A7E9A3.htm

[maddezmom]

1. Chad rebels fight gov't force in capital

Source: AP

NAIROBI, Kenya - Hundreds of rebels penetrated the capital of Chad on Saturday, clashing with government troops and moving on the presidential palace after a three-day advance through the oil-producing central African nation, officials and witnesses said.

Col. Thierry Burkhard, a French military spokesman, said groups of rebels gathered outside the capital, N'Djamena, overnight before 1,000 to 1,500 fighters entered early Saturday and spread through the city.

A leader of Chad's main opposition alliance, which is unarmed and not associated with the rebels, said shooting erupted after rebels entered the city around 8 a.m. but appeared to die down about two hours later. Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh said about 12:45 p.m. that there were no soldiers in his neighborhood and state radio had gone off the air.

"At the moment we are not hearing any firing ... The rebels are in the city. Civilians are in the streets. They are watching what is happening," said Saleh.

The renewed fighting has led the European Union to delay its peacekeeping mission in both Chad and neighboring Central African Republic, which was due to be up and running early next month, said Commandant Dan Harvey, speaking at the EU military headquarters in Paris on Friday. The deployment of the advance force could be postponed for days, he said.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080202/ap_on_re_af/chad

[bemildred]

2. Sounds like the "peacekeeping mission" might be a little late. nt

[DavidDvorkin]

3. I confess to ignorance about the situation

I thought that Chad was fairly stable internally, with problems coming from external conflicts spilling across its borders.

Is this really a home-grown rebellion, and what do we know about the nature of the rebels. (Or, which side should we be rooting for?)

[bemildred]

4. You got me.

I only heard of this set of rebels lately. The old rebels, that got defeated, had Libyan backing. These guys are said to be coming from Darfur/Sudan, I think.

[Robbien]

13. There is a guy at Agonist who has very good articles on this

The latest http://agonist.org/alex_thurston/20080202/rebellion_in_chad_a_symptom_of_international_indecision

gives a good explanation of the politics behind how the situation developed and gives good insight into the possible future consequences.

Some excerpts, but please go read the whole Alex Thurston article:

While events in Chad may sound, to an American audience, like another repetition of the "endless coups and wars" that engulf Africa, I would like to make two points to put the rebellion into a larger context. First, the situation in Chad flows out of the destabilized regional situation largely caused by Sudan. Secondly, the situation embodies the disturbing consequences of an international system paralyzed by indecision and haunted by the specter of neo-colonialism.

The Sudanese government isn't the only group bombing Darfur. Sudan has accused its neighbor, Chad, of bombing rebels in Darfur itself. In the last few weeks, Chad has stepped up its rhetoric against Sudan, threatening to cross the border and pursue anti-Chad rebels who hide in Sudanese territory. With both sides lashing out, serious military conflict looks increasingly likely. If that happens, the people of Darfur will be caught in the middle once again - this time in an international war.

Whatever comes out of this weekend's fighting in N'Djamena, it seems to me, will alter the dynamics of the situation regionally and even internationally. If Deby's troops fight off the rebels, he may seek retaliation against their (perceived) Sudanese backers, and continue increasing Chad's bombing campaigns inside Sudan. If the rebels win, Sudan may well be able to extend its influence deeper into its neighbor, hampering international peacekeeping efforts even further.

If you are looking to understand what this is all about, please go read the whole article. Alex Thurston's pieces on the situation in the region are some of the best on the web IMO.

[ohio2007]

7. Libya pulled its troops out of Chad some time ago.

Gadaffi gave up on keeping the peace in the land south of him. African nations living under strife spread like a domino theory. Maybe the Chinese oil interests will do something ?

nawwww

[David in Canada]

10. Same Rebels

This is the same rebel alliance that was defeated at basically the last possible second in April 2006.

President Idress Deby is probably figuring he can pull of a repeat, hence his staying in the presidential palace. Should he win, he will look like some macho hero.

If he loses, he could lose his life. The rebels control the airport and say he can leave. However, he might encounter an "accident" en route to the airport or be found with 3 'self-inflicted' gunshot wounds, a la Allende.

Many of the rebels have a visceral hatred for Deby. His life is definitely in danger. One of the rebel commanders is his former Defense Minister. Deby's late son, who was found dead in his Paris apartment last year, was known for bullying and humiliating his father's cabinet minister.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. However, Libya is now meant to be brokering a peace

From the AP link above:

The African Union, holding a summit in Ethiopia, said it would not recognize the rebels should they seize power. Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete, new head of the 52-nation bloc, said leaders had selected Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso to try to broker peace there.

They claimed they'd got a truce - but the latest reports seem to show that meant nothing:

Libya Says Chad Rebels Agree to Truce
Chad's Rebels Agree to a Cease-Fire at Gadhafi's Request, Libya Says

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has persuaded Chadian rebels to stop fighting in Chad's capital, Libya's official news agency reported Saturday.

The agency JANA said Gadhafi contacted the chief of the biggest rebel force, former diplomat Mahamat Nouri, and persuaded him to cease hostilities. The African Union on Saturday appointed Gadhafi a mediator in the crisis in the oil-rich Central African nation.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4233572

[ohio2007]

15. LOL, you can trust the Colonel of KFC to deliver B4 the Libyan

colonel. His funding for the Chad expedition dried up when the Soviets went out of business. I don't have the articles but the colonel basically threw his hands up and said they were on their own.
Unless the UN funds another lost cause.
The problem is the desert can't sustain the human population being pressed upon it. But as long as the UN receives funding to 'discuss the problems', the issue is moot

[bemildred]

5. Trapped Chad leader can leave, rebels say

A Chadian rebel leader says that President Idriss Deby can leave his palace in the capital N'djamena where he has been trapped by insurgent forces, if he so wishes.

"We suppose that Deby is inside. If he wants to leave we have no problem," Abakar Tollimi said by satellite telephone.

"We control the situation, we control the city, there are some pockets of resistance."

Mr Tollimi said that government troops were around the presidential palace and using heavy weapons against the rebels, who military sources said earlier were armed with machine guns, assault rifles and rocket launchers.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/03/2152986.htm?section=justin

[ohio2007]

9. "A rebel column of some 300 trucks had swept 800 kilometres since Monday from bases in Sudan."

300 goddamed trucks? what ? like Toyota pickup trucks?
even so, somebody must be bankrolling a Chad regime change!

wonder what kind of government they want to set up?
Guess the MSM should look into those stories but.....
article excerpt;

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters at the summit that the leaders of Chad and Sudan had been invited to Tehran for talks.



btw,
Why is it always the hated western peacekeepers sent in or the financed by the western nations peacekeepers always going in ?

Where are the Saudi peacekeepers ? How about the Syrian or Isareli forces ?
;)

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7bc_1201979897

[bemildred]

6. Chad's complexities a barrier for Eufor - The Irish Times

---

Best intentions aside, the EU force, known by its acronym Eufor, will be seen as a protagonist in a nasty and convoluted power-play, with Chad's civil conflict dovetailing with that in Darfur, and an escalating Sudan-Chad war, where the two sides are backed by China and France respectively.

Last night, conflicting reports suggested rebels had entered Chad's capital city, N'djamena, after their advance prevented the initial deployment of about 50 Irish Rangers and sparked the dispatching of an additional 150 French troops from their base in Gabon. Clearly the rebels' new-found unity - they had disintegrated into an alphabet soup of squabbling factions - was spurred on by the imminent deployment of Eufor, which constitutes a major strategic impediment in their eyes, not to mention the ruling party in Sudan, which has strategic interests of its own at play in Chad.

---

On November 17th, 2007, at the height of the Zoe's Ark orphan abduction case, party dignitary Nafi Ali Nafi told a rally at Wad Medani that "10,000 children were destined to be cut up and their livers and kidneys used for organ transplants for elderly Europeans".

Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, took to the podium next, telling the crowd "that the elements from Sweden and Norway are in fact intelligence elements from Mossad and the CIA".

http://www.analyst-network.com/article.php?art_id=1657

[AliceWonderland]

8. Thanks for posting these stories - this is getting more and more serious. n/t

[maddezmom]

11. Fighting restarts around palace in Chad capital

Fighting restarts around palace in Chad capital 2 hours, 2 minutes ago


N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Fighting restarted on Sunday around the presidential palace in the Chadian capital N'Djamena where rebels forces have surrounded President Idriss Deby and loyalist troops, residents said.

They said the sound of heavy weapons and machine gun fire could be heard coming from the direction of the presidency complex in the centre of the dusty capital.

"The night was calm but the firing has started up again since about 5 o'clock," an employee at the Novotel hotel, which is located not far from the palace, told Reuters.

Rebels seeking to topple Deby fought their way into the capital on Saturday and encircled the palace, demanding that the president leave. But at least two government ministers said that he was remaining inside at the head of loyal troops.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080203/wl_nm/chad_rebels_dc

[ohio2007]

14. 2 Saudis Killed During Chad Coup

The Saudi press is calling it "a Coup"

snip
President Idriss Deby Itno remained holed up in the presidential palace, a military source said. “The whole of the city is in the hands of the rebels. It’s down to mopping-up operations,” said the source.


snip
“Since the announcement that this European force will arrive, the Sudanese government has stepped up the number of attacks, to discourage the European Union,” he told Radio France Internationale in an interview.

He said Sudan was trying “to install a regime in Chad that will bow to it.”

snip

http://arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=106399&d=3&m=2&y=2008

?
WHy would the government of Sudan want a puppet regime ?
They can succeed where Colonel Quadaffy has failed I suppose.

funny
still no articles connecting the dots about the water shortage in the Sahara
go figger

[ohio2007]

16. reads like a domino theory

Imperial France out of Africa NOW !!

Chadian Crises a Blow to Darfur Mission
snip
....hundreds of people fleeing to neighboring Cameroon. Many embassies and foreign missions have also evacuated their staffs to Cameroon and Gabon. French troops have already evacuated at least 400 of its nationals to Gabon. Several hundred other foreigners have gathered in designated parts of N'Djamena. Guarded by French forces, they await evacuation.

snip
Although Chad is no stranger to civil wars, the present rebellion has one particularity, notably that it is directly linked with the crisis in Sudan's western region of Darfur. The Chad's government accuses the Sudanese government of Omar Bashir of being behind the rebellion.

Sudan is uneasy with Chad for agreeing to allow European Union troops, dominated by France, to be stationed in its territory as a backup to the joint AU/United Nations force in Darfur. The governments of both countries frankly support rebels in each other's territory.

The first contingent of EU troops was due to arrive in Chad on Thursday. Chadian officials believe the Sudanese government is using the rebels to sabotage their arrival.

"Sudan does not want this force because it would shine a light on all the genocide that is taking place in Darfur orchestrated from Chadian territory," the Chadian minister of external relations, Allami Ahmat, was quoted as saying by the BBC.


snip
With Chad harboring almost 250,000 displaced persons from Darfur, the Deby government has long suspected that the Sudanese Arab militia known as the janjaweed is exporting its conflict in Darfur to Chad to root out the "enemy" -- the refugees. To do this, they need the UFDD to gain control of strategic places in Chad.

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=3&no=381653&rel_no=1

Seems some speculation could be blowback for kidnapping all those kids and setting them up in France
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2d6_1193758000

Stories in the African media said the children were going to France and have thier organs harvested to keep the elderly French alive.

go figger

Sort of like the propaganda stories told to the civilian population on Iwo Jima,
the US marines were comming ashore to EAT them