Abéché, June 15 (Darfur24)
Chadian authorities have closed the Sudanese consulate in the eastern city of Abéché and declared the consul general and his staff persona non grata, ordering them to leave the country within four days, according to sources at the Sudanese Embassy in N’Djamena and the consulate.
The sources told Darfur24 that the decision followed what Chadian authorities viewed as procedural violations related to the arrival of a Sudanese civil registry and passport team.
According to the sources, Consul General Gaddafi Abdullah Mohammed arranged for a civil registry mission to travel from Sudan to Chad without formally coordinating with the relevant Chadian authorities regarding the team’s mandate. The members reportedly entered Chad on visas issued for visits to the consulate rather than for official government duties.
The sources said the move was based on the presence of passport and civil registry personnel from West Darfur, Central Darfur, and South Darfur states who had been operating in the border area of Adré since before the outbreak of the war in Sudan.
They also reported disagreements between the Sudanese Embassy in N’Djamena and the consulate in Abéché over where the team should begin its work. The embassy reportedly requested that the mission start issuing documents in N’Djamena before traveling to eastern Chad, while the consul insisted that operations begin in Abéché, arguing that he had personally requested the team’s deployment.
According to the sources, the embassy eventually agreed to the arrangement. However, while the team was preparing to travel from N’Djamena to Abéché, Chadian security authorities intervened and verified the identities of its members.
The sources said the authorities determined that several members of the delegation were Sudanese police officers who had entered Chad without prior notification to the relevant Chadian institutions regarding their official roles.
They further alleged that Chadian authorities detained members of the passport and civil registry mission, including a brigadier general who previously served as police director in West Darfur State, along with other Sudanese officers whom the team had contacted after arriving in Chad.
Following the incident, Chadian authorities reportedly ordered the closure of the Sudanese consulate in Abéché and instructed the consul general and consulate staff to leave the country.
A senior civil registry officer from West Darfur told Darfur24 that there were concerns about irregularities surrounding the deployment of the mission. He noted that such assignments are normally coordinated through Sudan’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior, but in this case, the request reportedly originated directly from the consulate in Abéché.
The developments come amid growing tensions between Khartoum and N’Djamena. Sudan has repeatedly accused Chad of facilitating the transfer of weapons from the United Arab Emirates to the Rapid Support Forces, allegations that Chad has denied.
Chad currently hosts hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees who have fled the conflict, most of them living in camps and settlements in the country’s eastern regions under difficult humanitarian conditions.