Chad in 'state of war' with Sudan - World Bank mulls withdrawal from Chad oil pipeline

BBC news report today Chad in 'state of war' with Sudan reveals statement issued by Chad's government on Friday afternoon is the most aggressive yet.

It claims that not only was Sudan behind the attack on Adre, but it also accuses Sudanese militia of making daily incursions into Chad, stealing cattle, killing innocent people and burning villages on the Chadian border.

'Chad is today in a state of war with Sudan,' the statement says.

It asks Chadians to form a patriotic front against what it calls 'the common enemy of the nation'.

See Sudan Watch Dec 21, 2005: Chad and its links to crisis in Sudan's Darfur

World Bank mulls withdrawal from Chad oil pipeline

Excerpt from Reuters Oct 28, 2005:

The World Bank may withdraw from a high-profile oil pipeline investment in Chad and halt lending to the government if it changes a law to access a larger share of oil profits, officials said on Thursday.

The officials, which called it "the nuclear option," said such drastic steps are possible if Chad changes the World Bank-backed oil revenue management law.

The move would be a major setback for the bank's biggest investment in Africa -- one it considered a test case for its strategy for oil investments as a way to benefit poverty-stricken nations.

In exchange for funding the $3.7 billion pipeline, the World Bank told Chad to pass a law ensuring that 10 percent from oil proceeds go into an overseas bank accounts and be spent only on poverty programs.