Chad warns neighbor of retaliation

The Central African state’s president has ordered the border with war-torn Sudan to be closed amid deadly incursions

Chadian leader Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno has ordered the army to retaliate against attacks from Sudan after a drone strike killed at least 17 people, including mourners, near the border between the two countries.

The border town of Tine was struck on Wednesday afternoon during a funeral gathering at a house. A resident cited by Reuters said two explosions hit the area, with casualties including children who had been playing nearby.

Chadian officials have blamed “Sudanese belligerents” for the strike, accusing them of seeking to destabilize the former French colony by “transferring their own intercommunal conflict” there.

At an emergency meeting in response to the incident, Mahamat Deby, appearing in full military uniform, described the attack as “outrageous” and a “blatant aggression” against Chad’s territorial integrity.

READ MORE: Chad shuts border with war-torn neighbor

He warned that future assaults will not be tolerated and instructed the Chadian National Army to “respond to any attack, regardless of its source, whether from the Sudanese government or the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).” 

The incident comes amid escalating violence linked to Sudan’s ongoing civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary RSF, which has spilled over into border regions. The fighting, which erupted in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, according to the UN.

Recent weeks have seen a rise in drone attacks in western Sudan, including strikes on markets and civilian areas near the Chadian border. The organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has reported multiple incidents causing civilian casualties, including attacks that killed and injured dozens in Darfur.

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Chad last month shut its eastern border with Sudan after five soldiers and three civilians were killed in clashes allegedly involving the SAF and RSF. At least 12 others were wounded in the incident, which also occurred in Tine, officials said.

On Wednesday, President Mahamat Deby ordered national defense and security forces to “secure the entire border between Chad and Sudan … and to deal firmly with any developments.”