Sudan accuses Chad of supplying Darfur rebels

Chad accused of sending troops across their border to deliver supplies to Darfur rebel group

KHARTOUM - Sudan on Thursday accused Chad of sending troops across their border to deliver supplies to a rebel group in the war-torn Darfur region.

Information Minister Kamal Obeid, quoted by state news agency SUNA, said that Chadian troops moved supplies to Justice and Equality Movement rebels near the El-Fasher and Muhajariya districts in western Sudan, where Sudanese forces have battled with rebels this week.

Ties remain tense between Chad and Sudan although they re-established diplomatic relations in November, following a six-month break after Khartoum accused Ndjamena of backing a Darfur rebel assault on the capital.

Chad and Sudan have repeatedly traded accusations of backing each other's rebel groups.

Obeid charged that Chad was "not serious" about having diplomatic ties with Sudan, SUNA said.

The commander of the UN-led peacekeeping force in Darfur, General Martin Agwai, said in October that mistakes by the international community have prolonged the conflict and that there is no immediate prospect for peace.

The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum. Since then, the conflict has disintegrated into a maze of fraying rebel groups, banditry, tribal conflict and flip-flopping militias.

The United Nations has said 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have been displaced. Khartoum puts the number of dead at 10,000.

Many of the rebels enjoy direct and indirect foreign support that helped fuel the conflict, with some critics pointing the finger at France, which has a military presence in neighbouring Chad.