N’DJAMENA, Chad – Chad’s president broke off relations with neighboring Sudan, threatened to expel 200,000 refugees from Darfur and paraded more than 250 captured rebels through the streets of the capital Friday after an attempt to overthrow him.
The refugees could become casualties in a growing war of accusations between the governments of Chad and Sudan. If forced to return to their homes in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, they would find almost no food or shelter and would be instantly preyed upon by militias that roam the land.
“The international community has been totally deaf and dumb on the situation between Sudan and Chad,” President Idriss Deby said after an emergency Cabinet meeting. They “need to understand the situation and that enough is enough.”
An attack by the rebel United Force for Change on N’djamena, the capital of this central African country, set off the latest crisis. At least 350 people – troops, rebels and civilians – died in the failed assault Thursday, Cabinet minister Gen. Mahamet Ali Abdullah said.
He said 271 rebels were captured, and dozens of them were paraded through the Place d’Independence on Friday in a show of victory. Many were called upon to tell the crowds how they were either Sudanese conscripted by the rebels or Chadians captured by Sudanese and forced to join the rebels.
The carefully choreographed demonstration was designed to support Deby’s assertion that the rebels were mercenaries hired by the Sudanese government to overthrow him.
Chad, an arid, landlocked country about three times the size of California, has been wracked by violence for most of its history. It has endured more than 30 years of civil war since gaining independence from France in 1960, and various small-scale insurgencies since 1998.
Although observers believe Sudan has provided at least some support to the Chadian rebels, the insurgents are led by former top military officers who until recently served under Deby.
Army officers first attempted to oust Deby March 14 by trying to seize power while he out of the country. Thursday’s attack was defeated when government loyalists used tanks, artillery and attack helicopters to destroy the lightly armed rebel column.
Abdullah said the army captured 14 pickups used by the rebels, some mounted with anti-tank weapons, antiaircraft guns and missile launchers.
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