Chad cuts Sudan ties after attack

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Chad's government has announced it has cut off diplomatic relations with
Sudan after repelling a rebel attack on the capital, N'Djamena, on
Thursday.

Sudan denies Chad's accusations that it backs the United Force for
Change rebels, who were beaten back by Chadian troops after launching a
dawn raid.

Chad's president has threatened to expel about 200,000 refugees who fled
conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.

The US called this an unacceptable breach of Chad's obligations.

"We call upon the government of Chad to uphold its responsibilities...
to provide protection for these refugees as well as to provide
international access to the refugees," State Department spokesman Sean
McCormack said in Washington.

Closed borders

On Friday, Chad paraded 160 captives, said to be rebels, in a public
square while crowds and soldiers looked on.

"We have taken the decision to break our diplomatic relations with Sudan
today and to proceed to close our frontiers," Chadian President Idriss
Deby told a rally in N'Djamena.

================================================== =========
CHAD-SUDAN TIMELINE
Early 2003: Sudanese rebels begin attacks in Darfur
Early 2004: Sudan militia begin attacks on Darfur civilians
2004-2005: 1m civilians displaced - some flee to Chad
June 2004: Chad says Sudanese militia on its territory
July 2004: Chad-Sudan agree joint patrols to cut clashes
August 2004: Chad seeks help to feed Darfur refugees
May 2005: 200,000 Darfur refugees now in Chad
Feb 2006: Chad and Sudan agree moves to cut tensions
Feb-April 2006: Chad blames Sudan for rebel attacks
April 2006: Diplomatic relations with Sudan cut by Chad
================================================== =====

He warned that the international community had until the end of June to
resolve the conflict in Darfur, otherwise they would have "to find
another country" to shelter some 200,000 Sudanese refugees in eastern
Chad.

Mr Deby said he had ordered all Sudanese diplomats to leave the country.

Chad accuses Sudan of supporting and arming the attackers. Sudan denies
this and says Chad backs rebels in Darfur.

The threat to close its borders and expel the Darfur refugees is
designed to focus international attention on Chad's internal conflict
and its complex ethnic links with neighbouring Sudan, BBC East Africa
correspondent Karen Allen says.

But an influx of refugees back into Darfur would put enormous pressure
on relief agencies, who are already struggling to gain access, our
correspondent adds.

In the past month the security situation has deteriorated in west
Darfur, with the World Food Programme warning that if fighting broke out
near the border with Chad the refugees could find themselves stranded.

Clashes and mutual accusations between Chad and Sudan have continued
despite an accord that the two countries signed in February, aimed at
easing tensions.

Prisoners

Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, the UN envoy from France, which has some 1,350
troops in its former colony, said the Chadian rebels came from Darfur.

Chad, which is rich in oil, has been hit by the conflict in Darfur, with
hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing across the border.

The UN Security Council urged Chad and Sudan to resolve differences
through talks and not support hostile actions.

Earlier on Friday, Chadian Defence Minister Bichara Issa Djadallah said
150 people on the rebel side had been killed in fighting in the town of
Adre, near the Sudanese border.

"All attackers withdrew into Sudan," the minister said in an interview
with Radio France Internationale.

The rebels have vowed to overthrow Mr Deby before the polls scheduled
for next month, which the opposition is boycotting but which Mr Deby
says will go ahead.

A spokesman for the rebels told the BBC they had not been defeated and
would attack N'Djamena again.

The Central African Republic has also closed its border with Sudan in
protest at what it called Khartoum's "aggression".