Sudanese militia attacks spread to Chad, CAR

They came on camels and horses; some came in cars. Armed with bazookas and rocket launchers, M14 and AK-47 rifles, up to 500 Arab men, most wearing Sudanese army uniforms, surrounded Djorlo, a village of 1,000 people in eastern Chad. Many of the attackers were Sudanese, part of the Janjaweed militia who attacked black Africans in neighboring Darfur. Now they had crossed the border and, along with Chadian Arabs, were bringing their scorched earth policy to Chad. Within moments, thatch-roofed homes were ablaze as artillery normally used to fight armies was turned on defenseless villagers. In the mayhem and murder that followed, men and women, young and old, ran for their lives. Seven babies, caught in a simple mud hut with a roof made of straw, were burnt to death. As the villagers, members of the black African Dadjo tribe, fled, their attackers shouted: "This is our land now. This will become the second republic of Sudan." What started three years ago in Darfur is now spreading at a frightening rate into neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), threatening to engulf the entire region. Chad said on Nov. 17 it was sending troops to CAR to combat cross-border rebel groups, which Chad and CAR claim are backed by Sudan. After the initial Janjaweed attacks in Darfur, Sudanese Arabs crossed the border and incited local Arabs, according to survivors of the attack on Djorlo. In the past 12 months, the Janjaweed have crossed into Chad regularly, bringing weapons and Sudanese army uniforms for Chadian Arabs. Witnesses to the assault on Djorlo and another village nearby, Tamadjour, said some of their attackers were neighbors. Local Arabs directed the Sudanese attackers to the homes of businessmen they knew would have more belongings worth stealing. At least 23 villages in eastern Chad have been attacked since Nov. 4, while a further 20 have been abandoned by residents fearing attack. A protection officer for the United Nations refugee agency described the assaults as a "land grab." "It is an orchestrated attack," she said. "There is a strategy behind it. Once the villages have been burnt and destroyed they do not move on. They are staying there."