Chad to deploy forces in Sudan
2009-05-19 19:09
N'Djamena - Chad is readying its armed forces to enter Sudan "in the coming hours" to intercept what it said was a planned new rebel assault around its eastern border, its interim defence minister said on Tuesday.
"This new situation will prompt us in the coming hours to pass across the border to deal with these pockets of mercenaries," Adoum Younousmi said in a statement.
Tensions between the two oil-producing neighbours have escalated in recent days, with Chad on Sunday confirming its air force had carried out cross-border raids on what it called Sudanese-backed rebels.
Right of pursuit
"We have asked our troops to deploy and those units which are due to intervene are in the process of gathering around these sites... The Chadian government will use its right of pursuit," Younousmi added.
Sudan called last week's bombing raids on its territory an "act of war". Chad said the raids had destroyed seven groups of fighters and that its ground forces had captured 100 prisoners on the border.
Chad and Sudan have long traded accusations of backing each others rebels, which have waged simmering rebellions in the remote shared border region.
Most of the fighting has not spread from Sudan's Western Darfur region and Chad's east, but last year rebel offensives reached both countries' capitals before being beaten back.