AFRICA 
Attack severs tie with Chad and Darfur
Monday, 12 May, 2008
Chadian troops (Getty)
Sudan has severed diplomatic ties with Chad on the weekend, accusing Ndjamena 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 announced it had repulsed the assault by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), allegedly backed by Ndjamena, which saw the insurgents reach the outskirts of Khartoum with declared intent of taking down the regime.
"We are forced to sever diplomatic relations with this regime" in Chad, President Omar al-Beshir said on state television following the attack on the capital's twin city of Omdurman just across the river Nile.
"We place the entire responsibility for this attack on Chad," he said, dressed in his field marshal's fatigues.
Chad said it regretted Khartoum's decision, denied any involvement in the attack and condemned a raid on the Chadian embassy. "Chad can only take note of this hasty decision with regret," the government said in a statement.
Uniformed Sudanese men ransacked the Chadian mission in Khartoum, taking away documents and computer equipment, it added.
The attack took place one day after Khartoum warned that rebels were marching towards the capital.
A senior official in the military command told the state SUNA news agency, that 250 million pounds ($A 123 million) would be paid to anyone who arrests JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim, or provides information on his whereabouts.
On Sunday, government forces were hunting down remnant rebel forces all over the capital and in neighbouring states, rounding up arms and explosives.
The media reported the Sudanese military had killed a leading JEM commander, had chased down, fought and wiped out a 45-man rebel force 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Omdurman and arrested 300 rebels.
Omdurman remained under curfew but restrictions were lifted elsewhere. The Egyptian news agency MENA said Khartoum international airport was closed and commercial airlines told passengers that flights to Sudan were cancelled.
There was no clear indication of casualty figures from either side.
JEM's deputy chief of staff Suleiman Sandal said that his forces had taken Omdurman but were having trouble with the urban fighting having come from the desert of Darfur, and had suffered casualties.
"This is the first time for them to fight in towns and now we are gathering our troops and thinking about what we're doing," he told AFP.
The government announced it had repulsed the assault by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), allegedly backed by Ndjamena, which saw the insurgents reach the outskirts of Khartoum with declared intent of taking down the regime.
"We are forced to sever diplomatic relations with this regime" in Chad, President Omar al-Beshir said on state television following the attack on the capital's twin city of Omdurman just across the river Nile.
"We place the entire responsibility for this attack on Chad," he said, dressed in his field marshal's fatigues.
Chad said it regretted Khartoum's decision, denied any involvement in the attack and condemned a raid on the Chadian embassy. "Chad can only take note of this hasty decision with regret," the government said in a statement.
Uniformed Sudanese men ransacked the Chadian mission in Khartoum, taking away documents and computer equipment, it added.
The attack took place one day after Khartoum warned that rebels were marching towards the capital.
A senior official in the military command told the state SUNA news agency, that 250 million pounds ($A 123 million) would be paid to anyone who arrests JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim, or provides information on his whereabouts.
On Sunday, government forces were hunting down remnant rebel forces all over the capital and in neighbouring states, rounding up arms and explosives.
The media reported the Sudanese military had killed a leading JEM commander, had chased down, fought and wiped out a 45-man rebel force 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Omdurman and arrested 300 rebels.
Omdurman remained under curfew but restrictions were lifted elsewhere. The Egyptian news agency MENA said Khartoum international airport was closed and commercial airlines told passengers that flights to Sudan were cancelled.
There was no clear indication of casualty figures from either side.
JEM's deputy chief of staff Suleiman Sandal said that his forces had taken Omdurman but were having trouble with the urban fighting having come from the desert of Darfur, and had suffered casualties.
"This is the first time for them to fight in towns and now we are gathering our troops and thinking about what we're doing," he told AFP.
