Sudan, Chad fail to defuse border tensions

(SomaliNet) Despite a meeting of African leaders in the Libyan capital that also made no progress towards ending the crisis in Darfur, Sudan and Chad failed to defuse tensions along their long, porous border on Sunday.

Meanwhile relations between the Sudanese government in Khartoum and Chadian government in N\'Djamena have been tense in recent years as both try to quell insurgencies on either side of their frontier. They accuse each other of backing rebels trying to overthrow their respective governments.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak joined the mini-summit hosted by Libya\'s Muammar Gaddafi that also included the leaders of Eritrea, Senegal, Mauritania and Gabon and was part of preparations for an African Union summit in Ethiopia this week.
Gaddafi is seen as an influential player in the region and has sought repeatedly to reconcile Chad President Idriss Deby and Sudan\'s Omar Hassan al-Bashir and broker talks between Khartoum and Darfur rebel groups.

Comments from officials leaving the meeting suggested its main purpose was to gather the views of protagonists rather than reconcile them.

\"The meeting focused on the situation in Darfur and its effect on the Sudanese border with Chad and Central African Republic,\" said Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad. \"It aimed to expand the base of the Abuja peace agreement.\"

A 2006 Darfur peace deal signed in Abuja, Nigeria, by only one rebel faction triggered more violence as rebels split into over a dozen groups. Talks hosted by Libya last October ended quickly after three main rebel factions refused to take part.

International experts estimate that 200 000 people have died in Darfur and more than two million forced to flee their homes by looting, killing and rape. The Sudanese government puts the death toll at 9 000 and says the West exaggerates the conflict.

Eastern Chad has seen a spillover of refugees and Arab Janjaweed raiders from Darfur, but Khartoum routinely rejects Chadian accusations that it supports Chadian rebels fighting an insurgency against Deby.

The European Union wants to deploy peacekeepers in eastern Chad next month to protect around 400 000 displaced people. The plan has been repeatedly delayed by a lack of equipment.-Reuters