By Jean-Pierre A.
Chad has closed its eastern border with war-torn Sudan to prevent the conflict from spilling over following intense fighting last weekend in a nearby border town that left five soldiers dead.
On Monday, 23 Feb., N’Djamena announced it had closed the border “until further notice” over “repeated incursions and violations committed by forces involved in Sudan’s conflict.”
The move “aims to prevent any risk of the conflict spreading to our soil, to protect our fellow citizens and refugee populations, and to guarantee the stability and territorial integrity of our country,” a government statement said.
The conflict in neighboring Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April 2023. It has left hundreds of thousands dead, and 11 million people have been forced from their homes. The fighting has periodically spilled into Chadian territory, causing casualties and property damage.
Communications Minister, Mahamat Gassim Cherif, said the closure aims to prevent the conflict from spreading into Chadian territory after several incursions by Sudanese forces.
The Chad–Sudan border is 1,403 km long and runs from the tripoint with Libya in the north to the tripoint with the Central African Republic in the south.
Sudan’s RSF said on Saturday that its fighters had taken control of the town of Al-Tina on the country’s western border with Chad, marking another claimed territorial gain by the paramilitary group in its war with the regular army.
According to the news outlet The Media Line, the RSF said in a message published on social media that its forces had seized the town, which had earlier been believed to be held by Joint Forces aligned with the Sudanese army. The statement was accompanied by video footage showing armed men celebrating beneath a banner reading “District of Al-Tina.”
A Chadian official told Reuters that clashes on Saturday between the RSF and militia fighters loyal to Sudan’s government in the border town of Tine killed five soldiers and three civilians and wounded 12 people.
