CONTACT GROUP ADOPTS MILITARY PLAN FOR SUDAN AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DAKAR 000837

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/C. AF/W, NEA/MAG, AND IO/UNP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/17/2018
TAGS: PREL PBTS CD SU SG GB CF ER LY
SUBJECT: CONTACT GROUP ADOPTS MILITARY PLAN FOR SUDAN AND
CHAD; SUDAN TO REESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

REF: DAKAR 830

Classified By: CDA Jay T. Smith for reasons 1.5 B/D


1. (C) Summary: On July 17 at the fourth meeting of the
Contact Group for the implementation of the Dakar Accord
between Chad and Sudan, Foreign Ministers and representatives
endorsed a draft military plan for the Peace and Security
Force to monitor the border between Chad and Sudan. In
addition, the Contact Group agreed to designate a special
representative to act as liaison between the group and the
force commander and adopted a budget $30.6 million to
establish and fund the force for one year. They agreed to
brief the AU Commission president and the UN secretary
general as a group on their progress. Sudan announced its
willingness to reestablish and normalize diplomatic relations
with Chad. End summary.

Foreign Ministers Adopt Military Plan
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2. (U) On July 17 at the fourth meeting of the Contact group
for the implementation of the Dakar Accord between Chad and
Sudan, Foreign Ministers and representatives from Chad, Congo
(Brazzaville),Gabon, Eritrea, Libya, Senegal, and Sudan
welcomed and endorsed the draft operations plan produced by
the group of military experts during their June 23-27 meeting
(reftel). The plan calls for the establishment of 10
observation posts (five on each side of the border) to be
manned by a Peace and Security Force comprised of two
elements: 1) an African multinational force of observers made
up of officers from the Contact Group member countries; and
2) a protection force made up 1,000 Chadian troops and 1,000
Sudanese troops.

Foreign Ministers Agree to Designate Special Representative
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3. (U) At the Contact Group meeting, which was chaired by
Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio and
co-chaired by General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko of Congo and
the Libyan ambassador to Senegal, Masssoud Mohamed Shalgam,
members agreed to designate someone to act as a special
representative to act as liaison between the Contact Group
the future military commander of the to-be-established Peace
and Security Force for Chad and Sudan. They requested that
the military experts meet again for four days in the second
half of August to continue their planning regarding
logistical feasibility, the division of command
responsibilities, and status of forces agreement.

Foreign Ministers Adopt Budget of $30.6 million
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4. (U) The Contact Group also adopted a budget of $30.6
million to establish and fund the operations of the Peace and
Security Force called for in the accord for one year.
Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh urged the members of
the contact group to demonstrate that Africa could address
its own problems by relying on its own financial and material
resources to fund the mission. Foreign Minister Gadio
concurred that the mission is an African one: conceived,
developed, and to be implemented by Africans and, as such,
the Contact Group members should draw first on their own
resources to fund and outfit the force to the extent
possible. However, Gadio emphasized that this effort is
being undertaken under the auspices of the African Union and
ultimately with the support of the United Nations and its
Security Council. As such, he expressed the hope that the
UN, the EU, and partner countries France, the United Kingdom,
and the United States would be able to provide logistical and
other support and perhaps some of the necessary equipment,
such as helicopters.

Contact Group Planning to Brief UN and EU
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5. (SBU) Gabonese Foreign Minister Laure Olga Gondjout
emphasized the importance of working with the United Nations,
the African Union (AU),and the African regional
organizations the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CENSAD)
and the Central African Economic Community (CEAC) and
proposed that the Contact Group meet with the heads of each
of these organizations to inform them of the groups progress.

DAKAR 00000837 002.2 OF 003


Gadio echoed her comments and the Contact Group agreed
organize missions to each of these organizations in addition
to the European Union (EU). The members of the Contact Group
agreed that the foreign ministers of each of their countries
would meet with the President of the AU commission and that
they would seek an audience with UN Secrtary General Ban
Ki-moon on the margins of the upcoming UN General Assembly.


6. (U) Congolese General Mokoko emphasized the importance of
coordinating with the UN/AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur,
UNAMID. Political Counselor intervened in support of this
point. Chadian Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat went a
step further and said his government would like to see UNAMID
in Dafur and the EU peacekeeping force in Chad, EUFOR,
involved in the implementation of the Dakar Accord. Gabonese
Foreign Minister Gondjout and Senegalese Foreign Minister
noted the difficulty of trying to modify the mandates of
these peacekeeping missions. Nevertheless, the Contact Group
agreed to keep the UN and EU informed about the progress of
the group.

Sudan to Reestablish Diplomatic Relations with Chad
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7. (C) Minister Gadio declared during the meeting that
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade had called for Sudan and
Chad to reestablish and normalize diplomatic relations.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Alor announced his agreement in
principle, a gesture that, at the urging of Libyan Ambassador
Shalgam, Minister Gadio encouraged Chad to reciprocate.
However, Chadian Foreign Minister Mahamat pointedly announced
that he merely took note of the Sudanese declaration. When
pressed further by Gadio, Mahamat said his country was
focusing on facts and actions not words and took issue with
Gadio,s tone. He noted that when a similar call for
reestablishing diplomatic relations was made at a previous
meeting of the Contact Group the Sudanese response had been
no. Moreover, he emphasized that Sudan had unilaterally
ended diplomatic relations with his country.


8. (SBU) Nevertheless, Sudanese Foreign Minister Alor
reiterated his country,s commitment to reestablishing peace
in Darfur. He asserted that his government had a plan for
finally ending the conflict in Darfur and stressed that
reestablishing and normalizing diplomatic relations with Chad
was a key part of it. By the end of the meeting he was able
to formally announce his government,s willingness to
re-establish and normalize diplomatic relations with the
government of Chad.

President Wade Takes Issue with Draft Operations Plan
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9. (C) President Wade personally received the heads of
delegations of Contact Group member countries and country and
organization observers. Briefed on the progress made and the
draft military plan, Wade expressed his support for the work
of the Contact Group but said the pQposal struck him as
completely inadequate and he urged the military planners
request the amount of troops and observers necessary to
complete the mission. However, Wade seemed confused about
the roles of the various elements of the Peace and Security
Force. He appeared to mistakenly believe that the 2,000
Chadian and Sudanese troops that are to comprise the
bi-national protection force would be acting as observers.
He opined that 2,000 observers and 10 observation posts was
completely insufficient and said the number of both needed to
be at least double. However, in fact, each observation post
will have only seven observers (one from each country) with
the exception of the observation posts established in
El-Genina in Sudan and Abeche in Chad which will serve as
secondary command posts and have double the number of
observers (two from each country).

Comment
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10. (C) Senegal appears to have successfully outmaneuvered
Libya and Sudan who had hoped to limit the Peace and Security
Force,s association with the AU and the UN. This issue had
been a cause of tension between Senegal and Libya for some
time. Perhaps because Libya was represented by its local
ambassador in lieu of the foreign minister, Gadio was able to
successfully orchestrate, with the support of Gabon, a

DAKAR 00000837 003 OF 003


communiqu and emphasizes the need to work closely with the
observer countries and organizations including minister-level
missions to the heads of the AU and EU to brief them on the
contact groups activities. End Comment.


11. In addition to the foreign ministers and
representatives of the seven Contact Group member countries,
the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC),which is a
full member of the Contact Group, was represented by
Ambassador Mohamed Habib. The United States, France, and the
United Kingdom, along with the European Union (EU),the
United Nations, the African Union (AU),and the African
regional organizations the Community of Sahel-Saharan States
(CENSAD) and the Central African Economic Community (CEAC),
as well as the UN, and UNDP participated in the meeting as
observers. The United States was represented by Political
Counselor.
SMITH
SMITH