Chad, Sudan presidents agree to work on “security and stability”

Sudan and Chad agreed to establish more joint mechanisms to face the challenges facing both countries and work together to achieve security and stability between them.

On Thursday, President Omar Al Bashir said in a joint press conference with Chadian President Idris Deby at the presidential palace in Khartoum that Deby's visit comes within the framework of ongoing consultations between Sudan and Chad.

He said that the security and stability achieved in Darfur is one of the successes of the joint forces.

In June 2018, both countries agreed to enhance security cooperation. The activities would specifically witness extensive contacts between West Darfur and Chad’s border regions to implement recommendations of the border development conference which was previously held in El Geneina.

Idris Deby, in response, said that the two countries “are one people” as a result of the social interaction between them on the border and the urban areas.

The two presidents agreed to work together to overcome all the challenges facing them, especially on the security and political level within the region as well as the situation in Libya.

Insecurity

According to the Armed Conflict Location and Events Data Project (Acled), a dataset designed for disaggregated conflict analysis and crisis mapping, violence flared up again along the borders between Chad, Sudan and Libya in the second week of January 2019, “showing once more the high instability in this area hosting multiple armed groups.”

The Acled report mentions that at least two incursions were reported in the town of Sebha in the beginning of January, including one targeting the security directorate. In response to the rising activity along its borders with Chad and Sudan, the Libyan air force launched new air strikes and deployed further forces on January 12th to counter Chadian and Sudanese armed groups.