Chad-Sudan clashes leave 27 dead, 36 injured

The Chadian joint forces expressed their regret over last week’s incidents surrounding clashes between Sudanese herdsman and armed Chadian groups, which according to them has left 27 dead and 36 injured in the Bir Saliba area of West Darfur.

As Radio Dabanga reported yesterday, a Chadian armed group ambushed and killed 18 Sudanese people as well as injuring 14, who had reportedly stolen Chadian’s camels. However, according to Chad’s Armed Forces, nine Chadian people were killed and at least 22 others were also wounded in the clashes.

The Sudanese-Chadian joint forces conference in Khartoum, which happened to coincide with the recent violence, referred to the escalation between Chad and Sudan as a result of political activists on social media fuelling the conflict by spreading hate speech among border communities.

The joint forces also stated that they would go to the scene of the recent clash and investigate all the facts.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors (CCSD) reported the 18 Sudanese people dead and 14 injured during the incident in West Darfur were shot with live ammunition. They added that those injured were now all in a stable condition.

The CCSD stated that three of those who died in Bir Saliba were buried without having an autopsy to identify the locations of their injuries.

The doctor’s committee accused Sudan’s junta forces of severe incompetence, as it was reported to them by local witnesses that the Chadian aggressors were able to cross the border even though they were heavily armed.

The committee affirmed that the country is experiencing chaos, regional conflict, and terrible security weakness as a result of the October 25 military coup.

Meeting

On Thursday, Sudan’s Vice President of the Sovereignty Council and Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’, visited the president of Chad, Gen. Mahamat Idris Deby, to discuss how to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries.

Following the meeting, Hemeti travelled to West Darfur on Friday in a bid to defuse the situation. At the funeral for those killed in Thursday’s attack, Hemeti called for restraint also vowing to resolve the “chaos across the border area”.

Ambassador Ali El Sadig, from Sudan’s Foreign Ministry, also condemned Thursday's killing in a meeting with the Ambassador of Chad in Khartoum on Saturday. During the meeting, El Sadig called on Chad to arrest those who intrude across the border and for the return of stolen livestock to their Sudanese owners.

In response, the Chadian ambassador highlighted the depth and importance of the brotherly relations between the two countries, as well as N'Djamena’s commitment to peace and stability in both Chad and Sudan.