Sudan Cuts Ties With Chad After Surprise Rebel Attack

Assault was crushed, says Sudan prez
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted May 11, 2008 6:12 AM CDT
Sudan Cuts Ties With Chad After Surprise Rebel Attack
Sudanese women and a child walk past an armored personnel carrier in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman, the scene of a rebel assault Saturday night, in Sudan Sunday, May 11, 2008.    (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)

Sudan today severed ties with Chad, charging that the nation aided hundreds of Darfur rebels who launched a surprise assault on the Khartoum suburb of Omdurman late yesterday. Khartoum and Omdurman were heavily guarded and under curfew after the assault hundreds of miles from rebel bases in the west. Sudanese leaders assured residents that the threat was over. Chad has denied involvement.

"I would like to assure people that everything is now under control, the rebel forces have been totally destroyed," said Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in a televised address. "These forces come from Chad who trained them. "We have no choice but to sever relations." (More Darfur stories.)

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