Chadian opposition members deported from El Fasher

A sixth batch of Chadian opposition fighers left Sudan earlier this week to return peacefully to Chad. The group flew from El Fasher to the Chadian capital N’djamena on Wednesday evening, and consisted of 60 fighters, according to the Sudanese state news agency. The expulsion of the opposition fighers from Sudan is part of the deal struck between Sudan and Chad in mid-January of this year, which ended five years of proxy war. As part of the rapprochement between the two countries, Presidents Deby and Bashir have each made a visit to the other. Additional elements of the diplomatic effort included visits to Khartoum in recent months by Chadian businessmen and commerce officials.

However, some of the Chadian opposition fighters have reportedly been relocated to Abyei and eastern Sudan, in violation of the security protocols agreed by the two countries. The website Sudan Tribune cited sources in the rebel JEM, whose leaders belong to the same tribe as the Chadian president, as saying that President Deby is furious about this.