US embassy cable - 05NDJAMENA285

C O N F I D E N T I A L NDJAMENA 000285 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/C, AF/SPG; LONDON AND PARIS FOR 
AFRICAWATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, ETTC, CD, SU, Darfur Policy and Rebels 
SUBJECT: KEEPING WEAPONS OUT OF SUDAN: CHAD'S RESPONSE 
 
REF: STATE 04 254293 
 
Classified By: Political/Economic Officer Kathleen FitzGibbon for reaso 
ns 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary: During a meeting with Foreign Minister 
Nagoum Yamassoum, Ambassador delivered reftel demarche on 
keeping weapons out of Sudan.  Yamassoum stated that as a 
mediator of the Darfurconflict, the Government of Chad 
maintains a neutral position and does not provide support to 
any f the parties.  The Foreign Minister emphasized tht 
Cad lacks both the will and the means to suppy weapons to 
the Sudanese parties. Chad remains igilant and has stepped 
up its border patrols.  Hwever, the Government lacks the 
means to completely control its long porous border and/or 
individual Chadians who may be involved in providing support 
to either party.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (C)  Ambassador Wall and P/E officer met with Foreign 
Minister Nagoum Yamassoum on February 23 on a number of 
issues.  During the meeting, Ambassador raised the issue of 
arms flows into Sudan.  He stressed the importance the U.S. 
places on the issue and the key role that Sudan's neighbors 
play in preventing additional arms from reaching the various 
combatants.  He presented Yamassoum with a non-paper urging 
Sudan's neighbors to remain vigilant, noting that Chad is one 
of the country's most affected by the Darfur conflict. 
 
3.  (C)  Yamassoum read the points with interest and said 
that for Chad, the issue of weapons flows into Sudan is 
nothing new.  He categorically stated that Chad's first 
obligation, as a co-mediator in the peace process, is to 
remain neutral.  Yamassoum stated that the Government of Chad 
does not provide any support to the parties in Sudan. 
Moreover, the Government of Sudan does not need support from 
Chad.  Yamassoum continued, saying that Chad lacks the means 
to supply any of the parties.  He cited Chad's problems with 
equipping a battalion for Haiti or Cote d'Ivoire as an 
example of Chad's lack of resources. 
 
4.  (C)  The Foreign Minister noted that he had previously 
discussed this issue with African Union Commission President 
Alpha Konare.  He told Konare that the GOC does not supply 
weapons to the parties to the Sudan conflict, but he could 
not guarantee that individual Chadians were not helping their 
friends or families on either side of the conflict. 
Yamassoum cited the example of a Chadian politician who 
intimated that there may be individuals who are aiding one 
side or the other.  Yamassoum also noted that it is also true 
that at the beginning of the conflict, there were individual 
Chadians who gave vehicles and uniforms to the parties. 
 
5.  (C)  Comment: Given Chad's role in negotiating the Darfur 
Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement and its hosting of over 
200,000 Sudanese refugees, it is not surprising that Foreign 
Minister Yamassoum shared our concerns about small arms 
reaching the parties to the conflict in Sudan.  His point 
that individual Chadians may be providing support to the 
parties was not an attempt to make excuses.  An ethnic 
Zaghawa, President Deby has been highly criticized for not 
helping his Zaghawa brethren in Sudan.  Lack of Chadian 
Government support for the rebel movements is a volatile 
political issue and remains a destabilizing factor within the 
Deby regime.  Cross-border attacks and growing insecurity on 
the Sudanese border led to joint Chadian-French military 
patrols to monitor the border over the past eight months, but 
Chad's vast frontier cannot be completely controlled. 
 
6.  (C) Khartoum and Tripoli Minimize Considered. 
WALL 
 
 
NNNN