Mohamat Nour's Chadian rebel United Front for Change (FUC) aims to depose Chadian president Deby

Who are these people? Sudanese Janjaweed, organised criminals, mercenaries? Whatever, they claim to be soldiers under the name of United Front for Change (FUC), bringing together several "dissident" Chadian armed gangs, and deny being backed by Sudan as the Chadian government alleged, says an unsourced article from Paris at France based Sudan Tribune 2 April 2006.

According to the article, the leader of the FUC, Mohamat Nour, rejected repeated Chadian accusations of being in the pay of Sudan and told Radio France Internationale:

"If we had received Sudanese assistance since 1994, [President] Idriss [Deby] would not be in power now".

"I am a soldier. We are currently being forced to do it by the arms and we will then hold a national forum which will bring together all Chadians who will then decide on Chad's political future and we, soldiers, will return to our barracks", said Nour.

Photo: Mohamat Nour (ST)

Who is currently "forcing" them to do it by arms? Where do such thugs and criminals get their guns, equipment and sharp new uniforms? Who is funding them - Sudan? France? Surely there is much more to this than meets the eye and that Chad's oil has something to do with it.

Note, a reader left the following comment at SW post Jan 13, 2006:

"The commander in charge of the massacres in Darfur is called MAHAMAT NOUR ABDELKRIM: http://genocidedarfour.blogspot.com/

The "captain" Mahamat Nour, ex-officer of the chadian army, has commanded the Jandjawids with the sudanese logistic. He has been the principal planner of the genocide in Darfur. Thanks to his chadian nationality, he was used as an alibi by the Sudanese government."

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SUDAN DENIES SUPPORTING CHADIAN REBELS



Photo: Chadian rebels stand by their vehicle in a small camp along the Sudan-Chad border Feb 10, 2006. The Sudanese army on that date denied reports which said Sudan's military lent support to rebels who recently carried out a series of attacks in the eastern Chad, slamming the reports as "baseless and lack of evidences and witnesses," reported Xinhua 1 Apr 2006 - excerpt:

In a press statement to the official SUNA, Spokesperson of the Sudanese Armed Forces Osman Mohammed al-Aghbash said that the army was completely committed to all international agreements and treaties, especially the Tripoli agreement signed by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Chadian President Idris Deby during a mini African summit in the capital of Libya on Feb. 8. The agreement calls for a good neighborhood between the two countries.

Note, Chad and Sudan promised in the agreement that they would not harbor rebels on their territories or conduct mutually hostile activities.
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CHAD ARMY CHIEF KILLED IN BATTLE WITH REBELS



Photo: A soldier of the Chad National Army patrols the wadi Tine, the empty bed of a seasonal river that marks the border between Tine Chad and Tine Sudan, in 2004. See Sudan Tribune 31 Mar 2006: Chad army chief killed in battle with rebels.

Further reading:

Feb 12 2006 Interview: Mahamat Nour the Chad rebel leader demands change, by force if needed

Feb 20 2006 Two Chadian army generals desert, join rebels

Mar 1 2006 Al Qaeda is entrenched in Sudan, UN envoy warns

Mar 15 2006 Chad's President Deby was sponsored by Khartoum and helped into power by the French secret services