Sudan cuts ties with Chad after rebel attack
(Adds details)
By Opheera McDoom KHARTOUM, May 11 (Reuters) - Sudan cut diplomatic relations with Chad on Sunday after an attack on Khartoum by Darfur rebels which it said was supported by Chadian President Idriss Deby.
The rebels fought Sudanese troops in a suburb of Khartoum on Saturday in a bid to seize power. Officials said the attack was defeated, but it was the first time in decades of conflict that rebels had brought their battle to the capital. "These forces are all basically Chadian forces supported and prepared by Chad," President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on state television. "...We are now cutting our diplomatic relations with this regime."
Bashir said the fighters, who made a lightning advance across 600 km (400 miles) of desert and scrub to attack a western suburb of Khartoum, were led by Khalil Ibrahim of the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
Chad has denied involvement but analysts say it may have backed the JEM rebels to retaliate for an attack on the Chadian capital three months ago.
"It seems that at least in part this is payback for the NCP's (Sudan's ruling party) support for rebels in Chad who almost topped the government there in February," said Amjad Atallah from the Save Darfur Coalition.
Rebels in the south and west of Sudan, Africa's biggest country, have for decades complained of neglect by the Arab-dominated central government.
A peace deal between north and south ended one civil war in 2005 and boosted Sudan's economy by increasing oil production in the south, but that agreement did not cover the conflict that erupted in Darfur five years ago.
International experts estimate some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million been made homeless in Darfur since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms.
Bashir Adam Rahman, political secretary of the opposition Popular Congress Party, said Saturday's fighting showed the government that "the war is coming to their backyard" and they must seize the chance for meaningful peace talks.
But government officials said the attack on Omdurman, which lies just across the Nile from Khartoum, ruled the JEM out of any peace process.
CURFEW EASED
Authorities partially lifted a curfew on Sunday. It remained in force on the outskirts of Omdurman, as troops hunted down rebels who were wandering the streets early on Sunday.
Residents said there was pandemonium on the streets of Omdurman on Sunday morning with cars, thought to be filled with rebels, moving around.
One resident said she could still hear shooting in the far west of Omdurman on Sunday morning, but other residents later said the area was quiet.
"We have lots of wandering defeated fighters ... and we are chasing them and we don't want civilians to get caught in the cross fire," Khartoum state governor Abdel Haleem al-Mutafi told Reuters.
State television showed a picture of JEM leader Ibrahim, branding him a war criminal. It called on citizens to pass on any information about his whereabouts and announced a $125,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
The southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which has signed a peace deal with Khartoum, said it was ready to support government forces.
"We are on standby. Khartoum is our capital city and we will not accept anything that will ... undermine our constitution," SPLA acting chief of staff Salva Mathok told Reuters.
The undersecretary at Sudan's foreign ministry, Mutrif Siddig, told Reuters that the Chadian embassy in Khartoum had been searched by security forces overnight.
"The contacts that have been monitored revealed that one of the points of contact for the rebel leadership was from within the Chadian embassy here in Khartoum," he said.
"The operation itself has been crushed but there are still some elements at large with some weapons," Siddig added.
Deby and Bashir signed a non-aggression pact in March, pledging not to let their territory be used by rebels hostile to each other. Each has accused the other of breaking the deal.
A senior army commander told Sudan television that security forces had captured more than 100 rebels, many of them just 17-18 years old.
He added they had information that Ibrahim's vehicle may have been hit but that he was still at large in the city. (Additional reporting by Skye Wheeler; Editing by Dominic Evans)
By Opheera McDoom KHARTOUM, May 11 (Reuters) - Sudan cut diplomatic relations with Chad on Sunday after an attack on Khartoum by Darfur rebels which it said was supported by Chadian President Idriss Deby.
The rebels fought Sudanese troops in a suburb of Khartoum on Saturday in a bid to seize power. Officials said the attack was defeated, but it was the first time in decades of conflict that rebels had brought their battle to the capital. "These forces are all basically Chadian forces supported and prepared by Chad," President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on state television. "...We are now cutting our diplomatic relations with this regime."
Bashir said the fighters, who made a lightning advance across 600 km (400 miles) of desert and scrub to attack a western suburb of Khartoum, were led by Khalil Ibrahim of the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
Chad has denied involvement but analysts say it may have backed the JEM rebels to retaliate for an attack on the Chadian capital three months ago.
"It seems that at least in part this is payback for the NCP's (Sudan's ruling party) support for rebels in Chad who almost topped the government there in February," said Amjad Atallah from the Save Darfur Coalition.
Rebels in the south and west of Sudan, Africa's biggest country, have for decades complained of neglect by the Arab-dominated central government.
A peace deal between north and south ended one civil war in 2005 and boosted Sudan's economy by increasing oil production in the south, but that agreement did not cover the conflict that erupted in Darfur five years ago.
International experts estimate some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million been made homeless in Darfur since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms.
Bashir Adam Rahman, political secretary of the opposition Popular Congress Party, said Saturday's fighting showed the government that "the war is coming to their backyard" and they must seize the chance for meaningful peace talks.
But government officials said the attack on Omdurman, which lies just across the Nile from Khartoum, ruled the JEM out of any peace process.
CURFEW EASED
Authorities partially lifted a curfew on Sunday. It remained in force on the outskirts of Omdurman, as troops hunted down rebels who were wandering the streets early on Sunday.
Residents said there was pandemonium on the streets of Omdurman on Sunday morning with cars, thought to be filled with rebels, moving around.
One resident said she could still hear shooting in the far west of Omdurman on Sunday morning, but other residents later said the area was quiet.
"We have lots of wandering defeated fighters ... and we are chasing them and we don't want civilians to get caught in the cross fire," Khartoum state governor Abdel Haleem al-Mutafi told Reuters.
State television showed a picture of JEM leader Ibrahim, branding him a war criminal. It called on citizens to pass on any information about his whereabouts and announced a $125,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
The southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which has signed a peace deal with Khartoum, said it was ready to support government forces.
"We are on standby. Khartoum is our capital city and we will not accept anything that will ... undermine our constitution," SPLA acting chief of staff Salva Mathok told Reuters.
The undersecretary at Sudan's foreign ministry, Mutrif Siddig, told Reuters that the Chadian embassy in Khartoum had been searched by security forces overnight.
"The contacts that have been monitored revealed that one of the points of contact for the rebel leadership was from within the Chadian embassy here in Khartoum," he said.
"The operation itself has been crushed but there are still some elements at large with some weapons," Siddig added.
Deby and Bashir signed a non-aggression pact in March, pledging not to let their territory be used by rebels hostile to each other. Each has accused the other of breaking the deal.
A senior army commander told Sudan television that security forces had captured more than 100 rebels, many of them just 17-18 years old.
He added they had information that Ibrahim's vehicle may have been hit but that he was still at large in the city. (Additional reporting by Skye Wheeler; Editing by Dominic Evans)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Entertainment
Zardari Pakistan's new president
