VZCZCXRO3732
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHNJ #0325/01 1030814
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130814Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5146
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 000325 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
KHARTOUM PLEASE PASS TO THE D DELEGATION 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF PREL UNSC CD SU
SUBJECT: CLASHES CONTINUE, IDP SITUATION WORSENS IN EASTERN 
CHAD 
 
REF: A. NDJAMENA 324 
 
     ¶B. IIR 6 910 0159 07 
     ¶C. IIR 6 910 0157 07 
     ¶D. IIR 6 910 0152 07 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY.  Over the last two weeks the security and 
humanitarian situation in eastern Chad has taken a dangerous 
turn for the worse.  The Dar Sila region near the border with 
Sudan south of Abeche has been the scene of attacks by 
janjaweed militias, an upsurge in new Internally Displaced 
Persons (IDPs), clashes between Chadian army and rebel 
forces, a Chadian army raid into Sudan, and a confrontation 
between Chadian and Sudanese troops.  Without concerted 
efforts to ease tensions and restore security in the border 
region, fighting between Chadian and Sudanese army and rebel 
forces could escalate and violence against civilian 
populations will worsen.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  (U)  Recent events in the Dar Sila region near the border 
with Sudan in southeastern Chad prompted a spate of inquiries 
about what happened and why.  This account seeks to piece 
together what we know about the situation here. 
 
---------------- 
Marena and Tiero 
---------------- 
 
¶3.  (U)  The latest round of violence started in the early 
morning hours on Saturday, March 31 when gangs on horses and 
camels carrying guns attacked the villages of Marena and 
Tiero and surrounding settlements.  Self-defense militias 
wielding spears were easily overwhelmed.  Villages were 
burned, houses destroyed, and many shot seeking to escape. 
Clashes continued involving Sudanese and Chadian rebel 
forces, reportedly using heavy weapons.  Thousands of 
villagers fled into the countryside.  Latest estimates put 
the death toll at as many as 400, but it is impossible to 
arrive at a precise figure.  Many bodies were hastily buried 
in shallow graves and were still being retrieved a week 
later. 
 
¶4.  (U)  Over the next week survivors made their way to 
Koukou Angarana, a small town that already hosted almost 
20,000 Chadian IDPs as well as over 19,000 Sudanese refugees 
at the nearby Goz Amir camp.  By the time a group with 
Congressman McGovern and the Ambassador visited the site on 
April 7, 9,000 Chadians were there and flatbed trucks 
operated by ICRC were arriving filled with more.  Many women 
and children were clustered around distribution stalls 
receiving soap, plastic buckets, and soap or gathered in 
shelters run by COOPI (an Italian NGO), Medecins Sans 
Frontieres, and other NGO's providing vaccinations and 
initial medical screenings. 
 
¶5.  (U)  Asked to identify their attackers, the IDP's 
referred to them simply as janjaweed, a term loosely applied 
to militias largely (but not entirely) of Arab origin, 
whether Sudanese or Chadian.  Some admitted that they knew 
some of the attackers from their villages.  Asked why they 
were attacked, the IDP's were unanimous in asserting that the 
attackers wanted their land.  No one could provide specific 
information on the identity of the rebel groups that 
reportedly joined in subsequent attacks, though Sudanese 
rebel forces (known as toro boro in Chad) and the Concorde 
Nationale Tchadienne (CNT), a Chadian rebel group under the 
Arab commander Al-Djinedi, are known to be active in the area. 
 
------------------------- 
Amdjirema and For Baranga 
------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U)  The Chadian army apparently stayed out of the fight 
until Monday, April 9 when its units engaged in a firefight 
with Chadian rebel forces with perhaps more than 200 vehicles 
near the village of Amdjirema.  According to the Chadian 
government, not only were CNT forces involved, but also those 
under Timan Erdimi and Mahamat Nouri.  The two sides issued 
conflicting statements blaming the other for initiating the 
combat and claiming to have come out on top. 
 
¶7.  (U)  In the end, the Chadian units pursued the rebel 
forces, which reportedly included over 150 "technicals" and 
eight armored vehicles.  Crossing into Sudanese territory, 
they inadvertently fell upon a Sudanese military position 
near the border town of For Baranga, perhaps there to support 
the retreating rebels.  The Chadian forces pulled back but 
not before killing 17 Sudanese soldiers and wounding 40 
others, according to a Sudanese statement.  Chadian 
authorities expressed regret but justified the raid on the 
 
NDJAMENA 00000325  002 OF 002 
 
 
grounds that the Chadian army was exercising the right of 
pursuit.  In an attempt to prevent the tensions from heating 
up further, Libyan special envoy Abdel Salim Triki met with 
President Deby April 11 and claimed he secured Deby's support 
for improving relations with Sudan.  Deby reportedly also 
agreed to visit Khartoum later this month. 
 
----------------- 
Stop the Violence 
----------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  It is impossible, at least on this side of the 
border, to ascertain the extent of any official Sudanese 
involvement in either instigating the raid on Marena and 
Tiero or arming the attackers.  Nor is it possible to know 
with precision Khartoum's role in supporting the Chadian 
rebels in this incident.  What is clear is that violence is 
spreading and people are suffering.  The clash between 
Chadian and Sudanese soldiers adds a dangerous new variable 
into the equation.  Conditions have the potential to 
deteriorate abruptly. 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  The visit by the Deputy Secretary will provide the 
opportunity to address the issue.  The Chadians must show 
restraint and stop supporting Sudanese armed rebels.  They 
must agree to the rapid deployment of a UN force with a 
mandate to protect civilian populations and to deter the kind 
of attacks that took place March 31 from happening again. 
 
¶10.  (U)  Tripoli Minimize Considered 
WALL