Dakar
07 March 2008
Chadian President Idriss Deby is expected to meet with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir next week on the sidelines of an international conference in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also expected to attend the meeting aimed at ending a long-standing conflict between Chad and Sudan. For VOA, Nancy Palus reports from Dakar.
The planned meeting comes just weeks after rebels marched on the Chadian capital, N'Djamena, in the latest of several attempts to oust President Deby. Mr. Deby blamed Sudan for backing the rebels.
Mr. Deby and Mr. Bashir have long accused one another of fomenting rebellions in their respective countries. Chad shares a border with Sudan's Darfur region, where fighting among rebels, militias and the government has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The Chad and Sudan leaders have signed several peace agreements but the region's many conflicts continue and have even intensified in recent weeks.
The U.N secretary-general - whose spokeswoman confirmed he would attend the Dakar Islamic organization conference - has said ending violence in Darfur is one of his main priorities. A hybrid United Nations, African Union peacekeeping force has been trying to deploy in the region, but has been slowed down amid negotiations with Sudan's government.