Chad Hints at Sudan's Involvement in the Assassination of Its Former President

The late Chadian President Idriss Deby answers questions of journalists, with then-US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, by his side, at the Presidential Palace in N'Djamena on April 20, 2016 (AP)."
The late Chadian President Idriss Deby answers questions of journalists, with then-US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, by his side, at the Presidential Palace in N'Djamena on April 20, 2016 (AP)."
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Chad Hints at Sudan's Involvement in the Assassination of Its Former President

The late Chadian President Idriss Deby answers questions of journalists, with then-US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, by his side, at the Presidential Palace in N'Djamena on April 20, 2016 (AP)."
The late Chadian President Idriss Deby answers questions of journalists, with then-US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, by his side, at the Presidential Palace in N'Djamena on April 20, 2016 (AP)."

Chad on Friday accused Sudan of being involved in the assassination of its former president, Idriss Deby, and of arming and financing terrorist groups operating in the region with the aim of destabilizing Chad.
Chad claims Sudan is aiding a rebellion by members of the Zaghawa ethnic group operating out of Sudan's southwestern El Facher region.
"Sudan is financing and arming terrorist groups operating in the sub-region with the aim of destabilizing Chad," foreign affairs minister and government spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah said in a press release.
He held the Sudanese military authorities responsible for the rebellion of which he claimed was behind the assassination of Idriss Deby.
The Zaghawa group based in Sudan is led by Ousman Dillo, the younger brother of Chadian opposition leader Yaya Dillo Djerou, who was killed by Chadian military forces earlier this year.
In February 2008, a Zaghawa group based in Sudan launched a lightning offensive in Chad along with other groups, forcing former president Idriss Deby to take refuge in his presidential palace, before he was able to repel them.
In 2021, Idriss Deby died fighting other rebel forces in the north of the country, just after he was elected president for the sixth time. He was succeeded by his son, Mohamed Idriss Deby, commonly known as 'Kaka'.
Sudan's government has accused Chad of meddling in its own civil war by helping to deliver weapons to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary forces.
The Sudanese war, which pits the army against the RSF, broke out in April 2023 and has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 11 million, including 3.1 million who are now sheltering beyond the country's borders, monitors say.



Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Washington on Monday, the State Department said.

Dermer updated Blinken on operational changes and policy decisions taken by Israel in response to a US letter sent in October, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in the statement.