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Chad says Darfur's violence spreads
A government spokesman points to recent deadly Arab-African fighting.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 9, 2006
N'DJAMENA, Chad -Chad's government has said that ethnic violence in Sudan's Darfur region is spilling across the border, sparking an upsurge of deadly Arab-African fighting among Chadians. Government spokesman Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor said in a statement late Tuesday that the latest fighting broke out Saturday in the eastern region of Sila and left "numerous victims" on both sides. That followed a report of violence from Chadian government officials who said a small clash between ethnic Arabs and ethnic Africans in another eastern region escalated into a large-scale attack in which Arabs killed 128 Africans on Oct. 31. The extent of that violence had not been clear until the delegation reached the remote region on Monday. Arab-African clashes across the border in Sudan's Darfur have undermined stability in a region that includes eastern Chad and the northern Central African Republic. Tensions have been further heightened because Chad accuses Sudan of supporting Chadian rebels and Sudan makes a similar accusation against Chad. The ethnic divide between Arabs and Africans is exacerbated by a lack of resources in the region, pitting communities against each other in competition for water and land. Ethnic African tribes in Darfur who accused their central government of neglect launched a rebellion after years of low-level tribal clashes there. The Sudanese government is accused of responding by unleashing Arab tribal militias who have been linked to atrocities. More than 200,000 people have died and 2.5-million have been displaced since fighting began in Darfur in early 2003. The U.N. has authorized 20,000 troops to replace an under-equipped force of 7,000 African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. But Sudan has refused to allow the U.N. peacekeepers in. Sudanese officials were not available for comment.
[Last modified November 9, 2006, 01:37:44]
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