Stand-off in W. Darfur town between army, Chad rebels

The citizens of Garsila in Wadi Saleh in West Darfur had to stay in their homes throughout the day on Wednesday because Chadian opposition forces entered the city in an attempt to liberate two of their leaders jailed at the Sudanese army garrison in Garsila. According to witnesses who spoke to Radio Dabanga, the tensions began after the Sudanese army requested that the Chadian opposition forces in the region surrender their weapons and 35 vehicles. This demand was made in order to enforce the agreement signed with Chad to end hostilities between the two countries and end support for rebel forces based in each other’s territories. The leaders of the Chadian opposition refused to comply with the request, prompting the Sudanese army to arrest two of their leaders. The army also sent a large number of reinforcements to the area, backed by helicopters and Antonovs which were seen in the sky over the city.  There were additional reports of crowds of the Chadian opposition coming from Um Khair, west of Wadi Saleh. This caused a state of terror in Garsila, closing schools, markets and keeping citizens in their homes in anticipation of what might happen in the coming hours. According to other sources of the region, military reinforcements were heading to the Sindo area of Mukjar Locality.  Radio Dabanga tried to contact the commissioner of Wadi Saleh, Abdullah Hussein, but his mobile phone was switched off.