AU may ease Chad, Sudan tension

2006-04-20 12:53

Addis Ababa - The African Union will send a delegation to Chad this week in a bid to defuse escalating tensions between Chad and Sudan, which accuses Khartoum of backing a coup attempt and has broken off diplomatic relations, says an official.

Patrick Mazimhaka, vice-president of the pan-African body's executive commission, said: "It is a fact-finding mission to look at the political situation in Chad and see what evidence the Chadian government can produce of a Sudanese invasion."

He said that the high-level team would leave AU headquarters in Addis Ababa on Friday for a four-day mission in a bid to determine the facts on the ground.

The six-member delegation would meet Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno as well as representatives from the country's "different political forces" and report back next week to the AU's peace and security council.

Rebel forces seek to topple Deby

Chad broke off diplomatic relations with Sudan last Friday, a day after an attack on N'Djamena by rebel forces seeking to topple Deby, who said they were actively supported by Beshir's regime.

Chad had also withdrawn its delegation from AU-brokered peace talks for Sudan's troubled western Darfur region because of "Sudanese aggression".

Sudan had denied allegations of engineering the coup attempt.

The AU had condemned Chadian rebel attacks, but had yet to comment on Deby's accusations of Sudanese backing for the United Front for Change, drawing angry responses from N'Djamena.

Deby, who maintained his forces, had successfully fended off last week's attacks on the capital, had accused the African Union of ignoring signs of Sudanese involvement in the uprising.

He said: "The AU should condemn Sudan's aggression in the strongest way. If my colleagues can't say the truth to President Omar al-Beshir, this continent is off to another bad start."

- AFP