This time last year, I was living in Chad. A peace accord had recently been signed by the presidents of Chad and Sudan with the aim of ending the support each country provides to the other's rebel groups. Most people held their optimism at bay considering that a peace deal had also been signed in 2007 and, well, that didn't really work out so well, with rebels invading and nearly taking N'djamena in early 2008 (subsequently, the Chadian government dug a moat around the city, a piece of information that remains one of my all-time favorites). Shortly after last year's peace deal was signed, Chadian rebel groups were making incursions into eastern Chad and Sudanese rebels attacked Khartoum (one year ago last Sunday - happy anniversary!). Both countries accused each other (rightly) of supporting the other's rebels and ties between the countries were broken. Further rebel invasions in Chad ensued and I was making preparations for evacuation.
Fast forward to 2009.
May 4: The presidents of Chad and Sudan sign a peace deal ending hostilities. Yay! Peace at last!
May 6: Chadian rebels invade eastern Chad and engage in fighting with the Chadian military. Doh!
No peace deal is going to stand in the way of the cycles of nature. Dry season comes along and Chadian rebels make their annual migration towards N'djamena.
Seriously though, if you're not going to stop the rebel invasions, at least put an end to the peace accords. It's all getting a bit tiresome.
Rebels were also reported to be in the border region between Chad and the Central African Republic, which has me a little worried, as that is where I was living and I still have friends there. I talked to one of my colleagues there who says that rebels have been seen in the border area, but so far things are calm in the south.
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