November24, 2006:
The rebellion in neighboring CAR is remarkably like the one in Chad.
In both countries, tribes that believe they are not getting enough goodies from
the government, are fighting for a larger cut. Like most of Africa, the guy in
power takes care of his own tribe, and the other tribes get jealous and, in
this case, get their guns and get going to rectify the situation. Also like in
Chad, there's the oil problem. An oil exploration team from Canada is checking
out likely deposits in CAR. If the oil field is confirmed and put into
production, the tribes will end up fighting over who gets control of the
checkbook. Sudanese involvement is largely the result of government supported
Sudanese tribes having branches across the borders in Chad and CAR. When the
borders of these countries were created, the tribes were not consulted. As a
result, most borders go right through tribal territory.
November
23, 2006: The government extended the state-of-emergency for another six
months. The Sudan border area is still a battle zone, with tribal gunmen from
Chad and Sudan roaming the area.
November
22, 2006: Another 150 Chadian troops have arrived in CAR, to help the army deal
with rebels.
November
21, 2006: Chad leaders met with those of Sudan, Libya, Egypt, Eritrea and CAR
in Libya. Everyone said nice things about each other and insisted that problems
were solved. But Sudan denied it was interfering in Chad and CAR, despite the
evidence that Sudanese citizens (troops or pro-government tribesmen) have been
found in both countries.
November
20, 2006: A relief worker was killed in southeast Chad, during a raid on a
village by tribal gunmen.
November
18, 2006: The violence in eastern Chad has created some 5,000 refugees, and
caused the disappearance of 37 relief workers.