Chad

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Shining light on Bashir’s crimes in an unconventional way
By Julia Boccagno, United to End Genocide
22 April 2013

Engaging in a creative protest to shine a light on the actions of the government of Chad, members of the Darfuri diaspora and activists with the BashirWatch project gathered at the Embassy of Chad with a giant video projection that was played on the Embassy walls.

Watch the video here: https://vimeo.com/64260662

The action was designed to place pressure on the Chadian government to prohibit Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir from entering the country for the fourth time since the International Criminal Court charged him with committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

As a member party of the International Criminal Court, Chad has a legal obligation to cooperate and arrest President Omar al-Bashir—the man responsible for systematically murdering over 300,000 innocent civilians in Darfur. (read more)

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Chad: Don’t Welcome ICC Fugitive
By Human Rights Watch
25 April 2013

(New York) – The government of Chad should arrest Abdelraheem Mohammed Hussein, the defense minister of Sudan, Human Rights Watch said today. He is expected to attend a conference in Chad on April 25 and 26, 2013, according to news reports.

Hussein is sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur, where he served as the Sudanese president’s representative for the region in 2004, during the height of the conflict. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Hussein on March 1, 2012, and this appears to be the first time he is traveling to the territory of an ICC member.

“Chad should stand with Darfur’s victims and arrest, not welcome, Hussein,” said Elise Keppler, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch. “He is a fugitive from justice who is sought with respect to heinous crimes committed in Darfur.” (read more)

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Nigeria gun battle was joint assault with Chad, Niger: sources 
By Tim Cocks, Reuters
23 April 2013

A bloody gun battle against Islamist insurgents in Nigeria last week involved forces from neighboring Chad and Niger, officials said on Tuesday, as West African countries increasingly view jihadist groups as a cross-border threat.

A joint force of more than 100 was assembled after an intelligence report said militants from the Boko Haram militant group had moved into Baga, a fishing town in northeast Nigeria on the shores of Lake Chad, two Nigerian military sources, a senior officer from Niger and a Chadian military official said. (read more)

Visit Nigeria’s page.

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Migrants, Refugees Flee to Chad
By Joe DeCapua, Voice of America
16 April 2013

Migrants and refugees are entering Chad from the north, east and south, as they flee violence and instability in neighboring countries. The International Organization for Migration is appealing for three and a half million dollars for emergency humanitarian assistance.

On Chad’s eastern border, migrants and refugees are escaping fighting in Sudan’s Darfur region. Two Arab tribes are battling for control of gold mines.

IOM Chief of Mission in Chad, Qasim Sufi, said the latest influx from Darfur began three weeks ago. (read more)

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Mali crisis: Chad’s Idriss Deby announces troop pullout 
BBC News 
15 April 2013

Chad, one of the largest supplier of troops battling Islamists in Mali, has started to pull them out, President Idriss Deby has said.

“The Chadian army does not have the skills to fight a shadowy, guerrilla-style war that is taking place in northern Mali,” he said.

Three Chadian soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Mali on Friday.

Soldiers from Chad, France and other African countries have ousted Islamist militants from northern Mali’s towns. (read more)

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Some 50,000 flee Sudan into Chad after Darfur clashes
By Bate Felix, Reuters
12 April 2013

N’DJAMENA – Some 50,000 Sudanese have fled into southeastern Chad in the past week following fresh tribal conflict in the restive Darfur region, U.N. and Chadian officials said on Friday.

Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, said the fighting had spread as each side received reinforcements from tribal allies and had become more violent, with entire villages being razed.

A total of 74,000 refugees had fled to Chad in the past two months, she said. (read more)

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Chad President: Self-Proclaimed C.Africa Leader Cannot Be Recognized
By Naharnet Newsdesk
3 April 2013

African heads of state decided Wednesday that it was impossible to recognize rebel chief Michel Djotodia as president of the Central African Republic (CAR), and want the country to elect a transitional president, Chad’s leader said at the end of a summit called to discuss the political crisis.

“As things stand now, it is impossible to recognize a self-proclaimed president,” Chadian President Idriss Deby told journalists. “A committee selected by national figures must lead the transition. This body will have the executive role and must vote for a transitional president” who would serve for no more than 18 months. (read more)

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Chad: 2013 humanitarian response threatened by funding crisis
African Press Organization, Newstime Africa
21 March 2013

The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Chad Mr Thomas Gurtner is today meeting with key regional partners in Dakar in order to develop a common Sahel strategy and to raise the alarm on the funding crisis facing humanitarian actors in Chad. Almost three months into the year, the 2013 humanitarian Common Appeals Process (CAP) of $500 million in Chad is only financed at 9% and UN agencies forecast that humanitarian funding this year could only reach a third of the amount received in 2012.

“I have spent the last days consulting with key humanitarian actors and we all are becoming increasingly concerned by a looming funding gap that endangers to wipe out the positive advances our humanitarian programmes were able to achieve during 2012,” said Mr Gurtner. “The humanitarian situation in Chad continues to be precariously volatile and we need immediate funding in order to maintain the most critical current activities, let alone respond to new crises.” (read more)

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Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrives at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia on January 25, 2013. (Reuters)

Chad: Don’t Welcome Back Al-Bashir
Human Rights Watch
15 March 2013

(New York) – The Chadian government should arrest President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan or bar him entry to Chad, Human Rights Watch said today.

News reports indicate that al-Bashir will travel to Chad to attend the Greenbelt Conference of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States on March 18, 2013. Al-Bashir is sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed in Sudan’s Darfur region.

“Chad should join the many African countries that have said they’ll arrest al-Bashir or prevent his visits,” said Elise Keppler, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch. “Activists across Africa have called for Chad to stand with victims and to ensure that the Sudanese president is surrendered to the ICC for prosecution.” (read more)

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Africa: Chad Hosts Wanted Al-Bashir as Côte d’Ivoire Joins ICC 
BY Stephen Lamoney, AllAfrica 
20 February 2013

As Côte d’Ivoire takes a major step towards ensuring accountability for grave crimes by joining the International Criminal Court (ICC), Chad is once again failing to live up to its obligations as a member of the Court by hosting fugitive from international justice Sudanese President Omar Al- Bashir.

The Sudanese president is attending the summit of the Community of Sahel-Saharan (CEN-SAD) in the Chadian capital this weekend. He is expected to pay a further visit to Chad in mid-March.

Al-Bashir is no normal visiting foreign dignitary. He is the first sitting head of state wanted by the ICC for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Crimes allegedly committed against his own population in the Darfur region of western Sudan. (read more)

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For earlier articles, please see the “Archived Updates” section on Chad’s page.

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