Friday, July 17, 2009

Sudan Accuses Chad of Launching Air Raids Over Darfur Region

SUDAN ACCUSES CHAD OF DARFUR AIR RAIDS

Sudan accused Chad on Thursday of launching air raids on its
western region of Darfur, an area believed to be the base of
Chadian opposition rebels, state media reported.

The Sudan Media Center website, which is considered close to the
intelligence services, reported that two Chadian planes had raided
the Umm Dukhun area of Western Darfur on Thursday.

The website, quoting senior military officials, said there were
no causalities but that the Sudanese army was on "standby" and
waiting for "the green light for retaliation".

The report was not possible to verify independently.

In May, Chadian insurgents coming from Sudan launched an
offensive against Ndjamena but Chad's army forced them back to west
Sudan, where they are based.

Meanwhile the Chadian rebel Union of Forces of Resistance (UFR)
claimed the Chadian air force attacked two villages in the
southeastern Chadian region of Tissi on Thursday morning, across
the border from Western Darfur.

"This attack has caused killing of many civilians and resulted
in the wounding of many others," said the statement, issued in the
Sudanese capital Khartoum where the group has representatives.

The reported attack was not possible to independently confirm,
but rebels claimed some 50 had been killed some 100 wounded.

"The wounded civilians were brought to UFR camps and are
undergoing medical treatment," the statement added, from UFR
secretary Adoum Yacoub Kougou.

Chad has accused Sudan of supporting rebels seeking to oust
President Idriss Deby Itno, while Khartoum has charged Ndjamena
with backing ethnic minority rebels in Darfur.

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