A United Past: One Must Hope For A United Peace

November 16, 2008

Reuters reported today that Chad and Sudan have made plans to deploy troops along their common borders. This is presumably to halt the spillover of rebels from both countries which has often endangered peace between the two nations. This issue certainly highlights the complexity and seriousness of the conflicts in both countries. The Reuters article published Monday makes reference to an attack on Khartoum made by Darfur rebels whom the Sudanese government says had garnered support from Chadian president Idriss Deby. However, the article does not mention that many attacks between 2005 and 2008 took the reverse route, where rebels attacked border towns in Chad, which the Chadian government immediately accused of collaboration with the Sudanese government. The conflict in Darfur has clearly destabilized not only Sudan, but neighboring countries as well. Connections have also been made to the conflicts in the Central African Republic and in Northern Uganda.

The Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy wishes to highlight these cross-borders disputes as evidence for the gravity and pervasiveness of the conflict. One conflict in the Western region of Sudan echoes over three other countries; something must be done. These cross-border issues also further complicate the conflicts; the international community must halt these conflicts before they become too labyrinthine for peacekeeping forces to navigate.

President Idriss Deby of Chad and President Omar Al-Bashir of the Sudan are already at odds. Though they have recently exchanged ambassadors, it is difficult to say how long such diplomatic postures will last. The international community must intervene, not only to stop the crisis in Darfur in its own right, but to aid the displaced refugees in Eastern Chad, halt the sale of child soldiers from the LRA into the service of the Sudanese government, and end the mutual harboring of insurgent groups between Chad and the Central African Republic. Though these conflicts had distinct roots, they are tied together by the genocide taking place in Darfur. Genocide means the killing of an entire race. At one time in the distant past, people migrated across the Sinai into Africa, populating all four of these countries and intermarrying with the natives. One can only hope that the four countries will recognize their united history, and, with the help of the international community, work to stop the violence that plagues the region.