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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Sudan
Index
Throughout the 1980s, relations with Chad, Sudan's neighbor
on the west, were affected both by the civil strife in that
country, which often spilled over into Darfur, and relations with
Libya, which intervened in Chad's internal conflicts. At the time
of the Bashir coup in June 1989, western Darfur was being used as
a battleground by troops loyal to the Chadian government of
Hissein Habré and rebels organized by Idris Deby and supported by
Libya. Deby was from the Zaghawa ethnic group that lived on both
sides of the Chad-Sudan border, and the Zaghawa of Darfur
provided him support and sanctuary. Hundreds of Zaghawa from Chad
had also fled into Sudan to seek refuge from the fighting. The
RCC-NS was not prepared for a confrontation with Chad, which was
already providing assistance to the SPLM, and thus tended to turn
a blind eye when Chadian forces crossed into Darfur in pursuit of
the rebels.
In May 1990, Chadian soldiers invaded the provincial capital
of Al Fashir, where they rescued wounded comrades being held at a
local hospital. During the summer, Chadian forces burned eighteen
Sudanese villages and abducted 100 civilians. Deby's Patriotic
Movement for Salvation (Mouvement Patriotique du Salut) provided
arms to Sudanese Zaghawa and Arab militias, ostensibly so that
they could protect themselves from Chadian forces. The militias,
however, used the weapons against their own rivals, principally
the ethnic Fur, and several hundred civilians were killed in
civil strife during 1990. The government was relieved when Deby
finally defeated Habré in December 1990. The new government in
N'Djamena signaled its willingness for good relations with Sudan
by closing down the SPLM office. Early in 1991, Bashir visited
Chad for official talks with Deby on bilateral ties.
Data as of June 1991
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