AU condemns clashes in Chad
2009-05-08 15:57
Addis Ababa - The African Union's Peace and Security Council on Friday "firmly condemned" rebel attacks in Chad, the AU Peace and Security Commissioner, Ramtane Lamara, told reporters in Addis Ababa.
"We issued a very strong condemnation of the attacks taking place in Chad since the 4th of May," Lamara said. "We deeply regret the loss of lives. The PSC is reiterating its condemnation of all kinds of anti-constitutional change of government and acts of destabilisation."
Around 150 people have been reported dead in the latest fighting on Thursday and Friday.
Chad called for an emergency meeting of the AU's PSC after rebels launched an offensive on Monday into the east of the country, crossing from the border with western Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
Both the Chadian government and the rebels, whom it calls Sudanese-backed "mercenaries", reported heavy fighting in east Chad on Thursday and Friday, with either side claiming the upper hand.
The rebel incursion started a day after Chad and Sudan signed a latest peace pact in Doha, mediated by Qatar and by Libya.
The AU did not directly condemn Sudan, stating that "the situation is very complex and we want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem".
Sudan did not attend the PSC meeting, saying it "the schedule was too tight", according to Lamara.
Chad's ambassador to the AU, Cherif Mahamat Zen, presented the situation in his country and asked the pan-African organisation clearly to condemn Sudan as an aggressor nation.
"We're asking the AU for a condemnation of Sudan, not a deployment of forces or assistance, just a condemnation and a demand that it does not resume aggression against Chad," Zen told a news briefing.