Neighbors at loggerheads

Sudan and Chad have been constantly blaming each other for supporting each other's rebel groups. Deby has accused the Sudanese authorities of arming rebels who launched a failed assault in early February on the Chadian capital of N'Djamena, while Sudan has often accused Chad of supporting Sudan's rebels in Sudan's western region of Darfur.

Previously, Sudan and Chad have signed five peace agreements, all of which broke down and failed to end the bilateral tensions.

Despite the applause and cheering atmosphere Thursday at Senegal's Presidential Palace in Dakar – the venue of the ceremony, skepticism about whether the deal can indeed remove the long-standing mistrust that has derailed former deals, still lingered in the air.

After all, the new deal did not come out as smoothly and easily as high expectations for reducing tension between the two neighbors have been twice dampened.

The first was the failure of showing-up by el-Bashir at a scheduled signing ceremony late Wednesday due to his "headache as a result of long journey," which postponed the meeting of the two leaders to Thursday.

A fresh exchange of accusations between N'Djamena and Khartoum earlier Thursday once again blocked a deal from being reached.

On Thursday, the Chadian government accused Sudan of sending rebels across the borders into the Chadian territories Wednesday, a claim categorically dismissed by the Sudanese government. The latter said the Chadian accusation was aimed at undermining efforts being currently exerted in Dakar for achieving a reconciliation between the two countries.

(Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2008)