State Department: U.S. Condemns Chad Rebel Incursion and Calls for Parties to Commit To Existing Agreements

A press release out today from the State Department castigates recent violence in eastern Chad between the Chadian government and Sudan-based rebel movements:

The United States condemns the current attacks by Chadian rebels coming across the border from Sudan. We support the security, stability, and territorial integrity of Chad. We call on the rebels to desist from all offensive operations, renounce violence, and enter into negotiations with the Government of Chad to re-enter Chadian society. We also call on the Government of Sudan to disarm and demobilize any Chadian rebels on its territory now or in the future and urge their return to Chad, in accordance with the Sirte Accord of October 2007.

We reiterate our call to the Governments of Chad and Sudan to abide by the various bilateral accords they have entered into, including the most recent accord signed in Doha on May 3, to reduce tensions and normalize relations by ending support for rebel groups in their respective territories. The U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, J. Scott Gration, is currently in Khartoum, Sudan, and is prepared to work with the relevant parties to end the “proxy war” and help achieve lasting normalization of bilateral relations between N’Djamena and Khartoum.

BBC notes that news of intense fighting comes a day after the Chadian government announced it had successfully beaten a rebel offensive.

• Eastern Chad