Recent violence worsens tensions along Chad-Sudan border - Ban
20 July 2009 – Recent clashes have further destabilized the already insecure border between Chad and Sudan’s volatile Darfur region, areas also facing a grave humanitarian crisis, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a new report.
The day after the Governments of Chad and Sudan signed an agreement, violence broke out on the border between the neighbouring nations when rebels entered eastern Chad on 4 May.
Authorities from Chad accused Sudan of supporting the incursion, and launched air raids against Chadian rebels in the war-torn Darfur region, a move the Sudanese Government labeled an “act of war,” according to Mr. Ban’s latest report on the UN mission to Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), known as MINURCAT.
The deterioration of relations between the two Governments “was also a setback for the security of the broader region,” he wrote, calling on both countries to “redouble their efforts to build confidence and address the sources of their tensions in order to bring stability to the region and improve the humanitarian situations in Darfur and eastern Chad.”
The Secretary-General stressed, however, that “enduring stabilization” in the region requires both nations to resolve continuing internal conflicts.
He voiced concern over the humanitarian situation in eastern Chad, where 260,000 Sudanese refugees, 70,600 CAR refugees and 171,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are receiving assistance.
But the volatile security situation, combined with the lack of access to basic services in return areas, will likely preclude the voluntary return of uprooted people this year, he noted.
On Friday, the head of the joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission in the neighbouring Darfur region of Sudan (UNAMID), Rodolphe Adada, also voiced concerns about the ongoing tensions between Chad and Sudan.
Last week Sudan accused Chad of carrying out air strikes in Umm Dukhum, a West Darfur village on its border with Chad.
Mr. Adada urged the two countries to end any hostile activities and stressed that dialogue was the only solution.
The new publication on MINURCAT said that the mission continues supporting the Détachement intégré de sécurité (DIS), a special unit composed of Chadian police and gendarmes trained by blue helmets who are responsible for the protection of refugees and IDPs in eastern Chad, underscoring that “it is and will remain a community policing force.”
As a result, DIS has limited capacity to respond to military threats, Mr. Ban said, calling for the deployment of the full MINURCAT force to be expedited. Currently, 2,424 troops – less than half of the 5,225 authorized by the Security Council – are deployed with the mission.
In September 2007, the Council approved the establishment of a UN-mandated, multidimensional presence, including European Union military forces, in Chad and CAR to help protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid to thousands of people uprooted due to insecurity in the two countries and neighbouring Sudan.
On 15 March, UN peacekeepers took over the military and security responsibilities of EU forces.
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