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Reasons To Worry

Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé)
OPINION
June 22, 2004
Posted to the web June 23, 2004

By Ngomba Efande

The main ethnic group in Darfur - the Zaghawa - straddles the border between
Chad and Sudan.
Violent clashes last week in the Chad-Sudan border region, involving Chadian
troops and pro-Khartoum Arab militias (the Janjawids) , have sparked fears the
devastating conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region could widen still
further. According to reports, the Janjawids infiltrated six kilometres into
Chadian territory, and 69 Janjawids were killed in the ensuing clashes. The
border tension has seriously worsened relations between N'djamena and Khartoum.
Coming out of his reserve, President Idriss Deby called on the Sudanese
government to keep its militia under control. Chad's Defence Minister even went
further, warning Khartoum that Chad's "patience has its limits!"
Is this a prelude for an open war? No one can tell. But the Chadian authorities
have good reasons to be worried that the Janjawids are trying to export ethnic
violence from Darfur, and stir up trouble amongst Chad's Arab population. One
main factor is certainly making the government in N'djamena to find itself in
an uncomfortable situation: the ethnic nature of the conflict. The Zaghawa, the
ethnic group suffering from what observers call "ethnic cleansing" in Sudan's
Darfur region straddles the border between Chad and Sudan. Simply put, they are
found on both sides of the border.
President Idriss Deby himself is from the Zaghawa ethnic group; and the
Zaghawas have been putting up pressure on the president to intervene militarily
on behalf of his kinsmen across the frontier in Sudan. Analysts say one of the
reasons for the recent coup attempt on President Deby was linked to the Darfur
conflict and the unwillingness of the government to intervene militarily. But
the Chadian government is seeking but a peaceful solution to the Darfur crisis,
and has hosted several mediation talks in N'djamena.
The Darfur crisis, which appears worse than anything the world has seen since
the genocide in Rwanda, is one of those outcomes of colonialism in which the
same ethnic group finds itself in two countries. Examples abound throughout the
continent.
It should be recalled that the Darfur conflict began when a rebellion broke out
there in February 2003. The Sudanese government and the Janjawids have been
accused of carrying out widespread killings and massive human rights abuses
which have left at least 10,000 dead and up to a million displaced. And the
killings will continue unless the international community becomes more
involved.

   

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