Sudan, Chad to restore ties

2008-07-18 13:15

Dakar - Sudan President Omar al-Beshir has agreed to restore relations with Chad, mediator Senegal says, more than two months after Khartoum severed ties accusing N'Djamena of backing Darfur rebels.

Relations between Chad and Sudan had been difficult for more than five years with the two countries regularly accusing each other of supporting rebel factions fighting against their respective regimes.

Diplomatic relations broke off in mid-May after an attack near the Sudanese capital Khartoum by a Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). N'Djamena denied any involvement.

"The president of the republic of Sudan... accepts the restoration of diplomatic relations between Chad and Sudan in response to the solemn appeal from his brother, (Chadian) President Abdoulaye Wade," a statement from the Senegalese presidency said.

The West African country's Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat had been mediating at talks in Dakar aimed at leading the bellicose neighbours on the path of conciliation.

Sudan severed diplomatic ties with Chad on May 11, accusing N'Djamena of backing a first Darfur rebel assault on Khartoum, and slapped a multi-million dollar price on the head of the alleged mastermind.

The government eventually repulsed the JEM assault, which saw the insurgents reach Khartoum's outskirts with the declared intent of toppling the regime.

But the accusations were often traded in the other direction. In February, rebels allegedly backed by Khartoum advanced as far as the gates of the presidential palace in N'Djamena before being repulsed.

- AFP