Ban: Sudan, Chad hostilities impede help

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Tensions between Chad and Sudan have stalled efforts to bring peace to the area and help refugees, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.

As U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed to use both pressure and incentives to help solve the humanitarian crisis caused by the genocide in Sudan's Darfur region, Ban said in a report on the U.N. Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad that Sudan's hostilities with Chad remain a major impediment.

"The perpetuation of the hostility between Chad and the Sudan continues to frustrate solutions to the conflicts in Darfur and eastern Chad, exacerbating the plight of civilians in both regions," Ban wrote, calling for a reinvigoration of "meaningful peace efforts."

Ban noted that agreements were reached between Chad and Sudan in both Doha and Dakar this year, but said they have yet to be realized, hindering MINURCAT's mission in the region.

Ban said Chadian authorities will need to increase their ability to protect Darfuri refugees and resolve the causes of armed conflict between rebels and government forces in eastern Chad and in Darfur.