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23 May 2009 Khartoum - Sudan on Wednesday
threatened to destroy any Chad forces that invaded its
territory, stepping up its rhetoric after Chad said it
was readying its troops to cross the countries' shared
border.
Chad's interim defence minister said on Tuesday his
forces would enter Sudan within hours to intercept
rebels, as recent tensions between the two
oil-producers mounted.
Sudanese officials on Wednesday said they had not seen
any signs of a Chadian attack overnight, but were
ready for any incursion.
"The Sudanese Ministry of Defence pointed out it will
not tolerate any aggression on the Sudanese lands, and
warned that the Armed Forces will destroy any force
that attempts to attack the Sudanese territories,"
read a statement on the Suna state media agency.
The underdeveloped neighbours regularly accuse each
other of supporting each others rebels.
Troubled relations have worsened in recent weeks. Chad
said Khartoum backed a rebel attack earlier this
month, hours after the countries had signed a
reconciliation deal in Doha.
The Chadian government went on to admit launching air
attacks inside Sudan in a bid to wipe out rebel camps.
Khartoum, which denied backing the rebels, has up to
now made relatively restrained public statements,
referring only to unspecified repercussions of any
Chadian attack and signalling that it was still
seeking a diplomatic resolution.
In another sign of heightened tensions in the remote
region, U.N. sources said they had unconfirmed reports
Sudanese army planes bombed land close to the Chad
border in north Darfur on Monday and Tuesday, the site
of recent clashes between Khartoum and Darfur rebels.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
there were also reports from the area that rebel
forces had fired back, using anti-aircraft guns.
No one was immediately available to comment from
Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement, which
says it is holding the key town of Kornoi in the area,
or the Sudanese armed forces.
Khartoum says N'Djamena arms and supports JEM, one of
two main Darfur rebel groups that launched a rebellion
against the Sudanese government in 2003. - Reuters
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