KEEPING WEAPONS OUT OF SUDAN: CHAD'S RESPONSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L NDJAMENA 000285

SIPDIS


DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/C, AF/SPG; LONDON AND PARIS FOR
AFRICAWATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2014
TAGS: PGOV ETTC CD SU
SUBJECT: KEEPING WEAPONS OUT OF SUDAN: CHAD'S RESPONSE

REF: STATE 04 254293

Classified By: Political/Economic Officer Kathleen FitzGibbon for reaso
ns 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: During a meeting with Foreign Minister
Nagoum Yamassoum, Ambassador delivered reftel demarche on
keeping weapons out of Sudan. Yamassoum stated that as a
mediator of the Darfurconflict, the Government of Chad
maintains a neutral position and does not provide support to
any f the parties. The Foreign Minister emphasized tht
Cad lacks both the will and the means to suppy weapons to
the Sudanese parties. Chad remains igilant and has stepped
up its border patrols. Hwever, the Government lacks the
means to completely control its long porous border and/or
individual Chadians who may be involved in providing support
to either party. End Summary.


2. (C) Ambassador Wall and P/E officer met with Foreign
Minister Nagoum Yamassoum on February 23 on a number of
issues. During the meeting, Ambassador raised the issue of
arms flows into Sudan. He stressed the importance the U.S.
places on the issue and the key role that Sudan's neighbors
play in preventing additional arms from reaching the various
combatants. He presented Yamassoum with a non-paper urging
Sudan's neighbors to remain vigilant, noting that Chad is one
of the country's most affected by the Darfur conflict.


3. (C) Yamassoum read the points with interest and said
that for Chad, the issue of weapons flows into Sudan is
nothing new. He categorically stated that Chad's first
obligation, as a co-mediator in the peace process, is to
remain neutral. Yamassoum stated that the Government of Chad
does not provide any support to the parties in Sudan.
Moreover, the Government of Sudan does not need support from
Chad. Yamassoum continued, saying that Chad lacks the means
to supply any of the parties. He cited Chad's problems with
equipping a battalion for Haiti or Cote d'Ivoire as an
example of Chad's lack of resources.


4. (C) The Foreign Minister noted that he had previously
discussed this issue with African Union Commission President
Alpha Konare. He told Konare that the GOC does not supply
weapons to the parties to the Sudan conflict, but he could
not guarantee that individual Chadians were not helping their
friends or families on either side of the conflict.
Yamassoum cited the example of a Chadian politician who
intimated that there may be individuals who are aiding one
side or the other. Yamassoum also noted that it is also true
that at the beginning of the conflict, there were individual
Chadians who gave vehicles and uniforms to the parties.


5. (C) Comment: Given Chad's role in negotiating the Darfur
Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement and its hosting of over
200,000 Sudanese refugees, it is not surprising that Foreign
Minister Yamassoum shared our concerns about small arms
reaching the parties to the conflict in Sudan. His point
that individual Chadians may be providing support to the
parties was not an attempt to make excuses. An ethnic
Zaghawa, President Deby has been highly criticized for not
helping his Zaghawa brethren in Sudan. Lack of Chadian
Government support for the rebel movements is a volatile
political issue and remains a destabilizing factor within the
Deby regime. Cross-border attacks and growing insecurity on
the Sudanese border led to joint Chadian-French military
patrols to monitor the border over the past eight months, but
Chad's vast frontier cannot be completely controlled.


6. (C) Khartoum and Tripoli Minimize Considered.
WALL


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