The Arabist

The Arabist

By Issandr El Amrani and friends.

Chadian rebels recruited in Darfur

The Head Heeb notes that Chadian Arabs with ties to Chad's rebel movements are being recruited in the ethnic cleansing campaign in Darfur:

This has the potential to disrupt an already-fragile cease-fire as well as further internationalizing the conflict and, in a worst-case scenario, turning it into a regional ethnic war. Allami expressed the fear that the conflict could "degenerat[e] into an inter-ethnic war between a coalition of Arabs and other ethnic groups in the region," which would bring in the Chadian army and rebel groups as full combatants. Chad has historically supported the Sudanese government in Darfur even while claiming a role as mediator, but is increasingly viewing Khartoum as an enemy; Chadian troops are mobilized along the border and politicians in Ndjamena are starting to talk openly about supporting the Darfur rebels. The situation may be one clash away from turning into a Chadian-Sudanese war or even one involving Libya, and if that happens, then the humanitarian catastrophe that has occurred to date may only be the beginning.



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