Rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) claims that Chadian troops and Sudanese pro-government militias entered North Darfur on Wednesdy morning to \u201cattack\u201d its fighters.<\/p>\n
Jibril Adam Bilal, JEM spokesman, said that Chadian troops were \u201cbacked by tanks, warplanes and helicopters\u201d in Tina. He added that they are acting in coordination with \u201cthe fugitives of Jebel Darma battles JEM-Bashar\u201d. <\/p>\n
JEM-Bashar, led by Mohamed Bashar Ahmed, broke away from JEM last year and signed a peace treaty with the Sudanese government earlier this month. JEM claims not having any links with Bashar\u2019s faction.<\/p>\n
Both factions clashed last week in Jebel Darma, North Darfur. Bashar\u2019s deputy general commander Saleh Mohammed Jerbo, who is also an alleged war criminal indicted by the ICC, is widely believed to have been killed in the battles.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Bilal condemned the move by Chad saying it is “blatantly” interfering in the Sudanese crisis in Darfur. He stressed JEM\u2019s \u201cproblem\u201d is with Khartoum and with its militias, not with Chad and he called upon N\u2019Djamena not to intervene.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Radio Dabanga, Bilal warned that any attempt of the Chadian military to assist the Sudanese regime \u201cwill fail, as it has happened before\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added that by supporting Khartoum, Chad would be supporting the regime to \u201ccommit crimes against humanity on a daily basis in Darfur, which is an offense the Sudanese people and the victims of Darfur cannot forgive\u201d. <\/p>\n
JEM spokesman said UNAMID needs to fulfill its role and not allow any foreign entity to infiltrate its forces in Darfur in order to avoid more suffering of its people.<\/p>\n
Conference for Assessment of the Performance of the Joint Sudanese-Chadian Forces<\/strong><\/p>\n The fourth round of the Conference for Assessment of the Performance of the Joint Sudanese-Chadian Forces is due to begin on Thursday in N\u2019Djamena, Sudan news agency SUNA reports.<\/p>\n The two-day summit will be co-headed by the Sudanese Minister of Defense, Gen. Abdul-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, and his Chadian counterpart.<\/p>\n During the conference, leaders are expected to sign a memorandum transferring the command of the Joint Forces from Chad to Sudan and participants will review a number of working papers, including the annual report. <\/p>\n The cooperation between joint Sudanese-Chadian forces was implemented in January 2010.<\/p>\n Photo: JEM leader Gibril Ibrahim (Radio Dabanga file)<\/em><\/p>\n Related<\/em>: Lawyers say ICC suspect Jerbo killed in Darfur<\/a> (24 April 2013)<\/p>\n