Chad says Sudan behind coup try

N'DJAMENA, Chad -- The captured rebels sat on the ground, huddled together in the 113-degree heat. Army officials paraded them through the streets of the capital in a show of victory by Chad's government.

Many of the 271 captives were called upon to tell the crowds how they were either Sudanese conscripted by the rebels, or Chadians captured by Sudanese and forced to join the rebels.

The carefully choreographed demonstration Friday was designed to support Chad President Idriss Deby's assertion that the rebels were just mercenaries hired by the government of neighboring Sudan to overthrow him.

"The international community has been totally deaf and dumb on the situation between Sudan and Chad," Deby said after an emergency Cabinet meeting. They "need to understand the situation and that enough is enough."

Deby broke off diplomatic relations with Sudan and threatened to expel 200,000 refugees from Darfur, a troubled region in western Sudan that borders Chad. An attack by the rebel United Force for Change on N'djamena, the capital, set off the latest crisis between the two countries in central Africa. At least 350 people died in Thursday's assault, Cabinet minister Gen. Mahamet Ali Abdullah said.

In a press statement read on Sudan's state-run radio, the ministry of foreign affairs said the Sudanese government was a good neighbor and had never interfered with Chad's internal politics. The ministry called on the warring sides to resolve their problems through peaceful means.

But the Central African Republic said Friday it was closing its border with Sudan after the Chadian rebels drove in pickup trucks from Sudan through the northern part off that country on their way to attack N'djamena. The 600-mile journey took them three days.

"We were shocked to hear that rebel groups coming from Sudan have crossed the CAR to go and attack a friendly country," Foreign Minister Jean Paul Ngoupande told The Associated Press. "The closing of our border is our way to express our dissatisfaction with Sudanese aggression."

The rebels, in a statement released on a Web site, again condemned Deby's refusal to negotiate with them. A key issue has been Deby's decision to change the constitution so he can run for a third term as president in elections set for May 3.

"The regime of Idriss Deby is the basis of the crisis in this part of the African continent," the rebel statement said.

The U.N. Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council both condemned the rebel attack on N'djamena. The U.N. called for both Chad and Sudan to take all necessary steps to prevent any more violence or an escalation of tensions between the two countries.

Chad, an arid, landlocked country about three times the size of California, has been wracked by violence for most of its history. It has endured more than 30 years of civil war since gaining independence from France in 1960 and various small-scale insurgencies since 1998.

The crisis in Darfur and internal dissension over how to spend new oil revenues have weakened Deby, who has led Chad since seizing power in a coup in 1990.

Two million people have been driven from their homes in Darfur, the site of what the United Nations has called the world's gravest humanitarian crisis. More than 200,000 of those refugees now live across the border in Chad. Deby said Friday they would have to leave by June 30 if the international community does not do something to stop Sudan from further destabilizing his country. He suggested he would insist that the U.N. refugee agency move the refugees to a third country, but such a move would be logistically very difficult.

If forced to return to their homes in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, the refugees would find almost no food or shelter and be instantly preyed upon by militias that roam the land with impunity.

Sudan has accused Chad of supporting rebels in Darfur, where Arab militias backed by the government have fought black African rebels for nearly three years. Some 180,000 people have died in Darfur as a result.

Although observers believe Sudan has provided at least some support to the Chadian rebels as revenge, the insurgents are led by former top military officers who until recently served under Deby. There has been enormous dissent within Deby's clan over his decision to run for a third term and how royalties from recently exploited oil reserves have disappeared.

Army officers first attempted to oust Deby on March 14 by trying to seize power while he out of the country. Thursday's attack was defeated when government loyalists used tanks, artillery and attack helicopters to destroy the lightly armed rebel column.