Chad government forces fought desert battles on Friday against rebels who were stepping up an offensive against President Idriss Deby, with almost 250 reported dead in two days of conflict, as the UN Security Council condemned the rebel assault.
The fighting, centered on the eastern town of Am-Dam, has heightened concerns among UN agencies and aid groups caring for about 450,000 refugees from Sudan and the Central African Republic.
The UN Security Council meeting in New York unanimously condemned the ongoing military incursion by Chadian rebels, who came from across the Sudanese border.
All 15 ambassadors endorsed a non’-binding, French-drafted statement that “condemns the renewed military incursions in eastern Chad of Chadian armed groups, coming from outside,” meaning neighboring Sudan.
France, which has troops in Chad, was anxiously watching events. The EU and the African Union condemned the rebel offensive.
Chad has bombed the rebels from planes and helicopters since they crossed the Sudanese border on Monday. The government accuses Sudan of backing the Union of Resistance Forces rebels, who have vowed to take the capital Ndjamena.
The rebels, who claim to have more than 1,000 all-terrain vehicles to carry their forces across the desert, said “several dozen” government troops had been killed or wounded and tanks destroyed in clashes early Friday around Houaich, near Am-Dam.
Confirming new clashes, Chadian Communications Minister Mahamat Hissene said 225 rebels had been killed, with another 212 taken prisoner, 127 of their vehicles seized and 93 destroyed.
On the government side, 22 soldiers were killed and 31 wounded, he said.
The army on Thursday said 125 rebels and 21 soldiers had been killed in clashes at Deressa, half-way between Am-Dam and Abeche, the main city in eastern Chad.
But the fighting spared Abeche, about 600km east of the Chadian capital, and Goz Beida, about 100km south of the battlegrounds. Both are bases for relief agencies, and Abeche is the eastern headquarters for the Chad army.
The rebels say they occupy Am-Dam, which is about 100km south of Abeche.
In New York, Chad and Sudan blamed each other for escalating fighting as the UN Security Council mulled a Chadian call for condemnation of the offensive.
“We are the victims of Khartoum’s Machiavellian machinations,” Chadian Ambassador to the UN Ahmad Allam-mi said. “The Security Council must openly condemn the [Sudanese] regime for its repeated attacks on my country.”
Sudanese Ambassador to the UN Abdalmahmooud Abdalhaleem Mohamad lashed out at France, Chad’s main backer and former colonial ruler, alleging that the French UN mission was lodging statements with the council “in the name of Chad.”
A UN military mission deployed in Chad and the neighboring Central African Republic to protect refugees and oversee the safety of aid work was considering the redeployment of relief staff withdrawn from camps earlier in the week, a spokesman said.
“The situation seems to be growing stable around Goz Beida,” where the UN stepped up military patrols this week, said Michel Bonnardeaux, the spokesman for the MINURCAT mission.
Chadian Interior Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bashir has accused Sudanese President Omar El-Beshir of ordering “mercenaries” to attack Chad and vowed the rebels would be wiped out.
A string of rape and assault allegations against the son of Norway’s future queen have plunged the royal family into its “biggest scandal” ever, wrapping up an annus horribilis for the monarchy. The legal troubles surrounding Marius Borg Hoiby, the 27-year-old son born of a relationship before Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s marriage to Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon, have dominated the Scandinavian country’s headlines since August. The tall strapping blond with a “bad boy” look — often photographed in tuxedos, slicked back hair, earrings and tattoos — was arrested in Oslo on Aug. 4 suspected of assaulting his girlfriend the previous night. A photograph
People with missing teeth might be able to grow new ones, said Japanese dentists, who are testing a pioneering drug they hope will offer an alternative to dentures and implants. Unlike reptiles and fish, which usually replace their fangs on a regular basis, it is widely accepted that humans and most other mammals only grow two sets of teeth. However, hidden underneath our gums are the dormant buds of a third generation, said Katsu Takahashi, head of oral surgery at the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital in Osaka, Japan. His team launched clinical trials at Kyoto University Hospital in October, administering an experimental
‘GOOD POLITICS’: He is a ‘pragmatic radical’ and has moderated his rhetoric since the height of his radicalism in 2014, a lecturer in contemporary Islam said Abu Mohammed al-Jolani is the leader of the Islamist alliance that spearheaded an offensive that rebels say brought down Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ended five decades of Baath Party rule in Syria. Al-Jolani heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Syria’s branch of al-Qaeda. He is a former extremist who adopted a more moderate posture in order to achieve his goals. Yesterday, as the rebels entered Damascus, he ordered all military forces in the capital not to approach public institutions. Last week, he said the objective of his offensive, which saw city after city fall from government control, was to
IVY LEAGUE GRADUATE: Suspect Luigi Nicholas Mangione, whose grandfather was a self-made real-estate developer and philanthropist, had a life of privilege The man charged with murder in the killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare made it clear he was not going to make things easy on authorities, shouting unintelligibly and writhing in the grip of sheriff’s deputies as he was led into court and then objecting to being brought to New York to face trial. The displays of resistance on Tuesday were not expected to significantly delay legal proceedings for Luigi Nicholas Mangione, who was charged in last week’s Manhattan killing of Brian Thompson, the leader of the US’ largest medical insurance company. Little new information has come out about motivation,
RSS