Chad has accused parties in Sudan’s civil war of carrying out airstrikes deep inside its territory, warning that the conflict risks spilling across the border, the Chadian Armed Forces said on Saturday.
According to the statement, aircraft and drones believed to belong to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) or forces supporting them pursued and bombed a convoy of vehicles on Thursday. The strikes began on Sudanese soil before continuing more than 100 kilometers inside Chad, reaching the Mourdi department in the eastern Ennedi-Est province.
The military said that the extent of the incursion was established following aerial and ground checks conducted on Friday. No Chadian casualties have been reported, but the army condemned what it described as a new violation of the country’s territorial integrity.
Chad warned Sudan’s warring parties against attempting to extend the conflict onto its territory, saying that its defense and security forces remain on the highest level of alert and are prepared to respond to any threat to the country’s security. There has been no response from Sudanese authorities to the Chadian military’s allegations.
Sudan plunged into a civil war three years ago after a struggle for power broke out between the SAF and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The incident follows several previous cases of violence spilling across the Sudan-Chad border. In July, a drone arriving from Sudanese territory struck the eastern Chadian border town of Tine, injuring two children and damaging vehicles and shops, according to local authorities.
In March, a drone strike from Sudan killed at least 17 people in the same town, including mourners attending a funeral. President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno condemned the attack and ordered the military to retaliate against any future strikes originating from Sudan, whether carried out by the Sudanese army or the RSF.
A month earlier, Chad shut its eastern border with Sudan after five soldiers and three civilians were killed in clashes allegedly involving the SAF and RSF. At least 12 others were wounded in the incident, which also occurred in Tine, officials said.