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Chad, Sudan 'in border clashes' Chad, Sudan 'in border clashes'
(about 12 hours later)
Clashes have been reported between troops of Chad and Sudan on the countries' border after Chad's army earlier engaged with rebel forces. Sudan says its armed forces have clashed with the Chadian army in the western region of Darfur, with 17 of its soldiers killed and 40 injured.
A Sudan army spokesman said they had suffered 17 casualties as Chad's army pursued rebel forces across the border. Chad has denied crossing the border and says it only fought with Chadian rebels who launched an attack from Sudan.
Chad has not confirmed fighting inside Sudan but said eight of its soldiers were earlier killed as they repelled a rebel raid into its territory. Eastern Chad and Darfur have a similar ethnic make-up and the two governments have swapped charges of backing rebels.
Chad and Sudan have long traded accusations of backing rebel groups. A BBC correspondent says if army troops did clash directly it could signal a marked escalation in the conflict.
Chad shares a long border with Sudan's lawless Darfur region, where some 200,000 people have died during a four-year conflict.Chad shares a long border with Sudan's lawless Darfur region, where some 200,000 people have died during a four-year conflict.
UN funding The African Union has announced that it is on the brink of reaching an agreement with Sudan on the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force to the north-western Darfur region to supplement the struggling AU force currently operating there.
A Sudanese army spokesman told Reuters news agency a convoy of Chadian troops and vehicles attacked Sudanese soldiers 2km inside Sudan's border. Escalation
He gave no details of where the incident took place and his claim could not be independently verified. Sudan says Chadian troops backed by eight tanks and 100 vehicles were 2km (1.2 miles) inside Sudanese territory.
Chad has given no official response but AFP news agency quoted one Chadian source as confirming the clash, saying 30 fighters on both sides were killed. name="goback"> class="" href="#map">See larger map of conflict
Earlier, Chad's government said it had repelled a rebel raid that was launched from Sudan Earlier, Chad says it repelled a rebel raid launched from Darfur.
"A column of more than 200 vehicles with armed elements attacked a defence and security forces position this [Monday] morning at Amdjerima," said government spokesman Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor in a statement."A column of more than 200 vehicles with armed elements attacked a defence and security forces position this [Monday] morning at Amdjerima," said government spokesman Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor in a statement.
He said 38 rebel vehicles had been destroyed.He said 38 rebel vehicles had been destroyed.
The Chadian National Concord rebel groups said 10 of its fighters were killed in a six-hour battle. "The defence and security forces fought back with determination to rout the attackers, who as usual had come from Sudan. The search goes on," he said
Last week, Chadian officials said at least 65 people had been killed in a cross-border raid by Sudanese militia. Chad's information minister called on the international community to condemn Sudan for what he called its expansionist plans to destabilise his country.
A BBC correspondent in Chad says relations between the neighbours have been strained for months despite a series of peace deals. However, another report quotes a Chadian official as saying they did pursue rebels into Sudan and then clashed with the Sudanese military.
The long border area between Sudan and Chad shelters a murky and dangerous mix of armed groups, the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum says.
Relations between the neighbours have been strained for months despite a series of peace deals.
'Differences'
The conflict in Darfur has spilled over the border, forcing some 120,000 Chadians to join more than 200,000 Sudanese refugees in camps.
Sudan accuses Chad of backing Darfur's rebel groups - Chad's President Idriss Deby is from the Zaghawa community, which is one of the groups being attacked by pro-government Arab militias in Darfur.
Chad denies backing the rebels and in turn accuses Sudan of causing unrest among its Arab community - charges denied by Khartoum.
The UN has approved funding for an 11,000-strong force to be sent to stabilise the eastern border region, although Chad says it only wants a police operation, not a military one.The UN has approved funding for an 11,000-strong force to be sent to stabilise the eastern border region, although Chad says it only wants a police operation, not a military one.
The conflict in Darfur has spilled over the border, forcing some 120,000 Chadians to join more than 200,000 Sudanese refugees in camps along the border. The AU peace and security commissioner Said Djinnit has said he is confident a final agreement on UN peacekeepers in Darfur will be reached soon.
Differences remained over the use of helicopter gunships, he said.
"We hope that we will be able to achieve greater progress in the coming days and weeks," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"In the meantime, we'd like to make an appeal to all the parties to refrain from any hostilities, and any act which is to undermine the ongoing process."
Our correspondent says the 7,000-strong AU peacekeeping force is overwhelmed by the complexity and scale of the conflict in Darfur.
1. Chad says Sudan government-backed militias are attacking villagers in Chad. Some 200,000 Darfur refugees are also in Chad2. Sudan accuses Chad of backing the Darfur rebels3. Chad says it will send troops to help CAR fight the rebels4. CAR says Sudan backs rebels who have seized towns in CAR
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