Chad Accuses Sudan of Cross-Border Air Strike That Killed 12 at Fuel Market
Chad has accused Sudan's military of launching an air strike near their shared border that killed at least 12 people, adding another flashpoint to a regional crisis already strained by Sudan's civil war.
According to a Chadian security source cited by AFP, Thursday's strike hit a fuel market used by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to refuel, killing 12 people and wounding seven. The source described the attack as a direct targeting of the paramilitary group's logistics near the frontier.
The accusation deepens a pattern of cross-border incidents between the two neighbors. Last week, Chad's army said Sudan was responsible for an air strike on a military convoy more than 100km (62 miles) inside Chadian territory in the eastern Ennedi region. No Chadian casualties were reported in that attack.
In response to the growing threat from drones, Chadian authorities raised the alert level in the border area to its highest point, a security source said. Reuters quoted a local source saying N'Djamena had deployed around 100 armored vehicles and signal-jamming trucks near Tine, a town close to the Sudanese frontier.
Sudan reacted cautiously, saying it was surprised by the allegations before any professional and independent investigation into the incident had been conducted. Sudan's foreign ministry added that its forces were carrying out their constitutional duty to protect Sudan's sovereignty, security and safety while respecting the sovereignty of its neighbors and without targeting their territory.
The United States weighed in Thursday, with its embassy in Khartoum blaming the Sudanese army for the recent strikes on Chad and condemning them. The statement puts Washington more firmly on one side of a growing dispute between Khartoum and N'Djamena.
Relations between the two countries have long been troubled. The Sudanese army has previously accused Chad of siding with the RSF, while Chadian officials have denied the claim. The border region has become a key pressure point in the war between Sudan's regular forces and the RSF, which has lasted more than three years and displaced millions.
The human cost is already severe. Nearly one million Sudanese refugees have crossed into Chad, where they now face a water crisis. The latest strike could make an already difficult humanitarian situation worse and further test an international response that has struggled to keep pace with the fallout.