After two years of calm that prevailed on the Chadian-Libyan border, clashes returned between rebel movements and the Chadian army in the north of the country, especially the border region of Tibesti, in conjunction with the tension in neighboring Niger and Mali.
“Sky News Arabia” contacted the media coordinator of the “Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic”, Ibrahim Qaja Ahmed, an armed Chadian faction, who clashed with the Chadian army forces in several battles, to find out the reasons for the return of tension to the region again.
On Thursday, August 10, tension returned, especially in the Kouri Bogdi region, which is rich in gold mines near the border with Libya, with the announcement of the “Military Command Council to Save the Republic” that it had ambushed the Chadian army forces, which resulted in loss of life and the capture of soldiers, and the seizure of weapons, according to a statement published by this movement. on Facebook.
The army previously fought armed battles against the rebels, during which President Idriss Deby was killed in April 2021, and the battles subsided with the entry of the government and many opposition movements into the “national dialogue” talks.
Reasons for renewed fighting
The media coordinator of the “Military Command Council to Save the Republic” lists the reasons for the renewed fighting, saying:
International efforts and African mediation failed to resolve the Chadian crisis, and the African mediator visited Chad last month, but we see that these efforts were not neutral; Despite the government’s violations, mediators describe the transition as going well. After this failure, we are forced to continue fighting until the current authority is overthrown. We have previously committed to a cease-fire after the killing of Idriss Deby, in response to the call of the international community. We participated in the peace negotiations in Doha, then withdrew from it. Because the government did not seek a peaceful solution to silence the guns that have been going on for decades. The government offered some delegations positions in return for returning to the country, which we rejected, and we found that negotiations are a waste of time, and only they will give legitimacy to the government. In the end, we did not sign the Doha Agreement. Our position on the Doha Agreement is clear, which is that we reject it and did not sign it. We now insist on the military option.
Battle details
Regarding the details of the battle that the Council fought against the army forces, on Thursday, Ibrahim Qajah Ahmed, these details are as follows:
The movement fought 3 separate battles with government forces on the same day, which lasted more than 10 hours. The battles were very intense, and we destroyed more than 8 military vehicles, captured 23 individuals, including officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, and seized 5 armored cars, large quantities of light and heavy weapons, and various boxes of ammunition.
Coordination with the government
As part of the escalation steps, the “Military Command Council to Save the Republic” movement seeks to coordinate with other armed movements to strengthen the ranks of confrontation with the government.
In this regard, the media coordinator of the movement says: “We are making great efforts to unify ranks among the armed movements that oppose the government, and we have contact with all movements and their leadership on all fronts, and we hope that the results of these efforts will be announced soon.”
These bloody developments come at a time when the situation has flared up in several neighboring countries in the Sahel and West Africa, starting with the military coup in Niger and the army being attacked by the “Nasrat al-Islam and Muslims” group on Wednesday, and the return of armed confrontations between government forces and separatist movements in the state of Mali.
Political researchers previously spoke to “Sky News Arabia” about the fact that armed separatist movements and terrorist movements affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIS are taking advantage of the opportunity for the region’s turmoil after the Niger coup, and the possible military intervention threatened by the Economic Community of West African States “ECOWAS” to end the coup, in Escalating armed action to achieve its objectives of controlling the land.
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2023-08-13 21:49:50
