On Sunday, Chad summoned the ambassador of the Central African Republic to lodge an official protest against what it described as a military incursion carried out by the Central African army (Saturday) in the town of Abnabak in the Tissi region, near the tri-border with Sudan.
The Chadian government said that the incident left several people seriously injured, including soldiers and civilians, without announcing a toll in numbers. Chadian Foreign Minister Ahmed Kogari informed the ambassador that the actions were “serious” and could not be considered isolated incidents, recalling that the country had recorded several incursions into the border region since 2021, and that their repetition was “unacceptable” and “will not pass without consequences.”
The minister asked Bangui to provide accurate explanations and urgent clarifications, and also asked the ambassador to convey the official protest and “severe warning” to his government, stressing his country’s adherence to its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the security of its citizens.
In another story, Agence France-Presse quoted a Chadian military source as saying that Russian forces bombed a site for rebels from the Central African Republic after they entered Chadian territory, leaving several people wounded. This accusation was not mentioned in the government statement.
Bangui novel
On the other hand, the Central African Army announced (Saturday) that it had carried out, with the support of its Russian allies, “preventive actions” against “foreign mercenaries” whose identity it did not specify. The Ministry of Defense said that air strikes and ground operations targeted armed groups in the tri-border area of Vakaga Prefecture to thwart an imminent attack on army positions. The Ministry confirmed that all the attackers were “neutralized,” without providing a human toll and no indication of entering Chadian territory. There was also no response from the Central African Republic government to the Chadian protest, as of Monday afternoon.
The Russian “Sputnik”, citing the “Officers’ Community for International Security”, stated that the operation was carried out in cooperation with “Russian military specialists.” In the Central African Republic, there are elements of the “African Corps”, which reports directly to the Russian Ministry of Defense, and has replaced the special “Wagner” group.
According to Sputnik, the operation took place in the Nabgai-Tisi region, targeting about 200 fighters, and resulted in more than 60 dead and wounded. The groups were planning an attack in the second half of October under the supervision of “Westerners,” and that Bangui informed N’Djamena of the presence of fighters on its territory.
Antecedents and context
It does not appear to have been the first incident in these confines; In May 2021, N'Djamena accused the Central African Army of attacking the Soro police station inside its territory, killing a soldier, kidnapping five and executing them, while Bangui proposed a joint investigation committee. In November 2022, Bangui accused a neighboring country of bombing its Russian forces and allies.
Armed groups are active in the northeast of Central Africa, and the region is affected by the Sudan war. The town of Umm Dafuk in Central Africa witnessed an attack on June 30, which the army said killed about twenty people, while local sources spoke of 28 dead.
This border region between the Central African Republic, Chad, and Sudan, especially around Tissi, Umm Dafuk, and Birao, is considered one of the most security-fragile areas in Central Africa, and is characterized by porous borders, weak government control, in addition to the activity of multiple armed groups, and direct effects from the ongoing war in Sudan since April 2023.
