Chad condemns Sudan’s airport threat as ‘declaration of war’

Chad condemned the Sudanese general’s threat to target his airports, calling him “declaration of war”.

His Ministry of Foreign Affairs said he would respond in accordance with international law if a “square meter of Chadian territory was threatened”.

The warning follows the comments of the LT-Gen Yasir al-Atta, the assistant commander of the Sudan army, who said that the United Arab Emirates used Chad airports to deliver weapons to the paramilitary quick support forces (RSF).

The Sudanese army has repeatedly accused the United Arab Emirates of supporting its rival, the RSF, throughout the two -year -old brutal civil war, which created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

UN experts described the accusations of weapons of smuggling water to RSF by Chad as “credible”, but the water denied it.

The comments of the LT-Gen Atta follow the recent decision of Sudan to bring water to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its alleged support for the RSF.

Speaking during a ceremony for an army officer killed in a drone attack by the RSF on Friday while the army took over the presidential palace, he said that the airports of the capital of Chad N’Djamena and the East City Amdjarass were “legitimate targets”.

Lieutenant-General Atta said that “reprisal measures” would be taken against the United Arab Emirates, South Sudan and Chad President Mahamat Déby.

South Sudan was also accused of having supported the RSF. He denied having supported any side of the conflict.

“We know what we are saying, and our words are not at all a joke, and they are not pronounced slightly,” warned LT-Gen Atta.

The BBC contacted Sudan authorities to obtain clarifications on its comments.

His comments reflect the deep frustration of the Sudanese army with not only the United Arab Emirates, but the neighboring countries, accused of having allowed their territory to be used as supply routes for the RSF.

In December, the Sudan Defense Ministry said that the weapons provided included strategic drones that carried guided missiles.

Chad positioned himself as neutral, but the War of Words exposes the growing regional instability caused by the Civil War of Sudan, which is complicated by the involvement of external actors.

“General Al-Aatta should stop offering stupid threats and focus on the urgent need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and without delay in a constructive dialogue in favor of a peaceful and sustainable solution,” said Chad, stressing that he welcomes hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees, mainly from the neighboring region of Darfur, which is largely in the course of RSF control.

The severe exchange came while the RSF said it had seized Al-Malha in Darfur, a city located on a vital trade route from Chad and Libya.

It also serves as a key crossroads leading to El-Fasher at around 200 km (125 miles), the last capital of the state of Darfur still under the control of the army, which the RSF besieged for almost a year.

The rebellious group said that he had “surrounded the enemy … leaving dead behind 380 dead”, after months of fighting with a coalition of armed groups allied to the Sudanese army known as joint forces.

He claimed to have “released” the region and said that he was “firmly [its] Determination to put an end to this war in favor of the Sudanese people “.

The BBC spoke to two members of groups of local activists, known as emergency intervention rooms, which coordinated humanitarian aid for the city.

We do not use their names to protect them and their families.

They say that after the RSF took control of the city, it closed its doors to prevent people from fleeing and imposed a locking.

The institutions do not work, explains Ahmed (not his real name).

The hospital does not work, the main market has been looted and no one obtains water, normally delivered from storage tanks by sellers.

Until now, estimates of people killed in the RSF advance vary from 35 to 48.

Ahmed, who monitors the Darfur from outside the country, said it was because the group had cut internet communications in Al-Malha.

He could not get in touch with his mother and 11 brothers and sisters to find out what happened to them

Ismail (not his real name) managed to flee with his family during the night, to the village of Kenana, where many displaced people from al-Malha also find it difficult to take food and water.

Others have taken refuge in the valleys among the breeders of nomadic goats and camels, they told the BBC.

Ismail said many people killed were market merchants because they belonged to the Zaghawa community, the ethnicity base of joint forces.

The RSF also burnt down the houses of those they thought they had a link with the army or the government.

At least two traditional community leaders were killed, said Ahmed.

Analysts claim that the RSF seems determined to consolidate its grip on its Bastion of Darfur after months of army earnings at the Central Sudan, and the capital, Khartoum.

The leader of the group, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, promised to fight in Khartoum despite the significant army advance last week.

The paramilitary fighters remain dispersed in certain parts of the city center, including the airport, as well as in the south and west of the capital.

But the army says that it has gradually seized infrastructure and key buildings, including the central bank and the headquarters of state intelligence, while it consolidates control of the region.

The fully recovery from the rest of the capital would mark a central point of war, giving the Sudanese army a strategic advantage in the other battlefields in the country.

But many observers believe that there is a danger of de facto score, the two parties at war and their donors spanning their areas of influence.