Sudan and Chad ink sixth pact

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, left, sits across from Chadian President Idriss Deby as they sign a non-aggression pact in Dakar, Senegal, on Thursday. PHOTO: AP

The heads of Sudan and Chad on Thursday signed a non-aggression pact -- the sixth deal in five years aiming to halt hostilities between the African rivals.

Sudanese Omar al-Beshir and Chadian President Idriss Deby signed the accord and shook hands at the Senegalese presidential palace in the presence of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade.

It came after more than 24 dramatic hours of attempts by Wade to bring the two arch-rivals together in Dakar.

Beshir Deby accuse each other of backing rebels seeking to overthrow their governments and there have been several clashes between their armies.

The text of the deal, released by Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane, said "we solemnly engage to prohibit all activity by armed groups and to stop the use of our respective territories for the destabilization of one or other of our states."

The two presidents also committed to a personal reconciliation and to normalize relations between their countries.

They promised to help establish peace and stability in the troubled region already stricken by the Darfur conflict in western Sudan, on Chad's border. They also vowed to implement their past accords -- though widespread doubts have been expressed about the viability of any of the deals.

Beshir to turn up for one mini-summit after his arrival in Dakar on Wednesday night. Wade said Beshir blamed his absence on a headache.

On Thursday, Deby's government said Chadian rebels based in Sudan had crossed the border to launch an offensive.

Chadian and Sudan denied the claim which highlighted the rivalry between the pair.

General Mahamat Nouri, who now heads Chad's main rebel force, said "nothing is going on" and in Dakar, Sudanese Deputy Foreign Minister al-Sammani al-Sheikh al-Wassila told reporters: "I can assure you this is complete nonsense."

Chad to be calm, said a spokesman for EUFOR Chad-CAR, the force of 3,700 French-led soldiers starting to deploy in Chad and the neighboring Central African Republic with a mandate to protect Darfur refugees.

The UN said on Wednesday that there are now about 470,000 refugees in eastern Chad -- 250,000 from Darfur, 57,000 from the Central African Republic and 180,000 internally displaced Chadians.

Three factions drove across southern Chad in late January to launch a bloody assault on Ndjamena on Feb. 2 to Feb. 3, which left scores dead. It was pushed back by Deby's forces with French logistical help.

Deby Sudan of arming the rebels and letting them use bases in Sudan. The Khartoum government denied the claims.

Libyan Muammar Qaddafi brokered one peace deal in February 2006 and another was sealed in the Sudanese capital in August the same year.

Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic made another agreement last year not to let rebels from other countries use their territory.

In May last year Deby and Beshir made another pact after praying together at the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine at Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Beshir made a new swipe at his rival on Tuesday.

"After the prayers inside the Kaaba, hand in hand, we said: `We have a deal and may Allah punish he who breaks it,'" Beshir said in Dubai. "If the Chadian president failed to honor an agreement made inside the Kaaba, how can you expect him to adhere to an agreement he [might] sign in Dakar?"