Chad, Sudan in new peace talks
2008-03-12 18:10
Dakar - The leaders of Chad and Sudan will make a new attempt in Dakar on Wednesday to overcome tensions that have brought the African rivals to the verge of war several times in the past five years.
Despite the added pressure of the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, however, neither Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir nor Chad's President Idriss Deby have committed to signing a peace accord that the Senegalese hosts have said will be sealed at the summit.
Deby arrived in Dakar on Wednesday but the meeting has already been delayed because of Beshir's late arrival.
A summit of the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Conference will be held in the Senegalese capital on Thursday and Friday.
Sudan and Chad accuse each other of backing rebels seeking to overthrow their governments. Solving the dispute is considered a crucial step to ending the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, on the border with Chad, where the UN estimates more than 200 000 people have died since 2003.
About 200 000 Darfur refugees are said to be inside Chad.
Previous peace accords
The two neighbours have signed several previous accords and accuse each other of failing to honour them.
In February, Chadian rebels who used bases in Sudan stormed the capital, Ndjamena, in a bid to overthrow Deby. The Chad government says Sudan arms and gives other support to the rebels, who acknowledge it.
Chad admitted in January that it had bombed targets inside Sudan that it said were rebel bases. There have been frequent border clashes between the two governments' armies.
Beshir raised doubts about the new accord on Tuesday.
He accused Deby of failing to honour an agreement made in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in May 2007. The two prayed together inside the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine.
"After the prayers inside the Kaaba, hand in hand, we said: 'We have a deal, and may Allah punish he who breaks it,'" Beshir told journalists.
"If the Chadian president failed to honour an agreement made inside the Kaaba, how can you expect him to adhere to an agreement he (might) sign in Dakar?" he asked.
"We already have five (peace) agreements signed with Chad," Beshir said.
Respecting new accored crucial
But Sudan's Foreign Minister Sammani al-Wassila later insisted Beshir was going to Dakar with an "open spirit". He added however that it was crucial to make sure any accord on preventing cross-border intrusions was respected.
Alongside the UN secretary general and Senegalese leader Abdoulaye Wade, President Omar Bongo of Gabon and current African Union leader Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete have also been invited to the meeting at Wade's residence.