Ethiopian Review

KHARTOUM – Chadian aircraft launched an air raid inside Sudanese territory on Thursday, days after reports the countries were planning reconciliation talks, Sudanese state media reported.

The Sudanese Media Center quoted a senior army officer saying two aircraft attacked land in the Sudanese state of West Darfur on Thursday morning — the fourth reported Chadian raid on Sudan in two months.

“The army is ready and just waiting for instructions to retaliate,” army chief of staff Lieutenant-General Muhammad Nasr al-Din was quoted as saying, adding that there were no casualties.

No one was immediately available from Sudan’s armed forces, or from Chad’s government, to confirm the report.

Relations between the two countries have become entangled in Sudan’s festering Darfur conflict and each country has accused the other of supporting rebels inside its borders.

Sudan accused Chad of launching three bombing raids on its territory in May. Chad has said it has the right to deal with attacks from insurgents within Sudan’s borders.

Chad accused Sudan of sending rebel forces over its border earlier in May.

Sudanese state radio earlier this week reported Qatar was planning to bring Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir together with Chadian president Idriss Deby for a reconciliation conference.

Sudan and Chad have signed a string of similar deals in recent years, but they have blamed each other for breaking them, sometimes within days of signing the agreements.

The joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force in Darfur said it was investigating reports of bombing in the territory, but could not confirm them itself.

- Reuters