|
|
Chad: Derby Blames African Union for Rebels' Attack
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Daily Trust (Abuja)
13 February 2008
Posted to the web 13 February 2008
Isa Umar Gusau
Maiduguri
Chadian President Idriss Derby has blamed member states of the African Union for the continuous aggression of rebels in his country, declaring that the member states had failed to summon courage in curtailing the intrusion of Sudan on the security of Chad.
Derby was speaking when President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, represented by Borno State Governor Ali Sheriff, led a delegation comprising Minister of Planning, Senator Sanusi Dagash, Minister of State for Defence, Mrs. Fidelis Njeze, Minister of State for Interior Alhaji Hassan Ali Haruna and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bagudu M. Hirse to Chad at the weekend.
A statement by the director press to Governor Sheriff, Usman Chiroma, in Maiduguri yesterday, quoted President Derby to have told the delegation that Sudan had been facilitating the activities of rebels in Chad.
Derby, according to the statement, alleged that huge military arsenal was deployed by the rebels which he said was beyond his imagination as more than 400 armed vehicles were deployed by the rebels to unleash terror on his people.
"President Derby claimed that the character and complexity of the attack showed that foreign elements aided the rebels, specifically Sudan and some members of the Janjawed and Al-qaida terrorist groups. He accused Sudan of spreading ideological fundamentalist Islam across the sub-region since the crisis in Dafur in 2002, with frequent attacks since December 2005. The recent incursion, he said, had left a traumatized population as more than 300,000 refugees from villages and infrastructure were razed" the statement read in part.
The Chadian President also blamed the African Union for the liberty enjoyed by Sudan to intrude into his country.
"President Derby accused A.U. member states of lack of courage to point out the aggressor and prevent further aggression, saying that if sanctions were not imposed on Sudan , it would resume further attacks on Chad , using its huge resources and wealth to prosecute illegal wars in his country", Sheriff's media aide said in the statement.
The statement added that Derby had expressed concern on the problem of incursions from the eastern border with Sudan, recalling meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005 in which he requested for Nigeria's intervention to resolve the problem.
|
Also in the statement, President Derby commended the United Nations Security Council for showing concern on the crisis in Chad and expressed gratitude for Nigeria's support and assistance while he specifically requested for financial and material support from Yar'adua.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
