Chad accuses Sudan of airstrike killing civilians near border fuel market

An airstrike near Chad’s border with Sudan killed at least 12 people and wounded seven on Thursday, according to a Chadian security source. The strike targeted a fuel market in the Adikong area where the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese paramilitary group, refueled, the source told AFP .

Chad accused Sudan’s army of launching the attack, which occurred more than 100 kilometers inside Chadian territory in the eastern Ennedi region. Local media also attributed the strike to Sudanese forces. Chad’s military previously reported a drone strike on a military convoy in its territory last week, suspecting Sudanese involvement, though no casualties were reported.

Sudan’s Foreign Ministry denied responsibility, stating it was “surprised by the allegations against its army before any professional and independent investigation into the circumstances of the incident.” The ministry said Sudanese forces act to protect national sovereignty while respecting neighboring countries’ territory .

The U.S. embassy in Khartoum condemned the strikes, accusing Sudan’s army of conducting recent attacks on Chad. Sudan has previously accused Chad of supporting the RSF, a claim Chad denies. The conflict between Sudan’s army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has displaced millions and killed at least 200,000 people, according to humanitarian estimates .

Chad has heightened its alert level in response to drone threats, deploying about 100 armored vehicles and signal-jamming trucks near the eastern town of Tine, close to the Sudanese border, a local source told Reuters .

Nearly 1 million displaced Sudanese have fled to Chad, where they face a water crisis. On Monday, the U.S. proposed extending a U.N. arms embargo from Darfur to all of Sudan to prevent the conflict from spreading regionally .