Sudan threatens Chad after rebel attacks

EL FASHER, Sudan (CNN) -- Sudan cut ties with neighboring Chad and threatened retaliation on Sunday after accusing it of helping train the rebels who attacked a suburb of Khartoum.

"These forces came from Chad. They were trained and are supported by Chad," President Omar el-Beshir said.

"Therefore we hold the Chadian regime fully responsible for what happened and maintain our right to respond to this crumbling regime which does not represent the will of the Chadian people."

El Beshir said the Sudanese and the Chadians had always considered themselves "one nation divided by the colonialists."

"But now," he said, "we are forced to sever diplomatic relations with this outlaw regime and maintain our right to respond to this regime."

Hundreds of rebels staged an assault in Omdurman, a suburb of Khartoum, on Saturday. The government said Sudanese security forces successfully routed them.

Mitrif Saddique, undersecretary of the Sudanese ministry of foreign affairs, said that some of the arrested rebels confessed to being trained at camps in Chad.

CNN was not able to immediately reach officials in Chad for their reaction to the allegation.

However, The Associated Press reported that Chad has denied supporting the rebels.

"The government denies any involvement in this adventure which it condemns without reservation irrespective of whoever is responsible," Communications Minister Mahamat Hissene said late Saturday.

In the past, Sudan has accused the Chadian government of supporting the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) -- a Darfur rebel group that aims to overthrow the government of Sudan.

Chad, in turn, has accused Sudan of backing rebels who crossed the border in February in a failed attempt to overthrow the regime of Chadian President Idriss Deby.

In March, Deby and el-Beshir signed a non-aggression agreement, aiming to halt cross-border hostilities between the two African nations.

The latest saber-rattling aggravates an already deteriorating security situation across this politically unstable region of Africa.

Because of the threats of retaliation, residents in West Darfur, a rebel stronghold, braced themselves for aerial attacks.

This time, Sudanese officials referred to the rebels simply as "mercenaries," foregoing any reference to JEM in an attempt to apparently deny them publicity.

Saddique, the foreign affairs undersecretary, said more than a thousand armed men staged the assault Tuesday. Troops killed rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim in the fighting, he said.

However, state television said Ibrahim was injured in the attack and was hiding somewhere in Omdurman. It broadcasted pictures of Ibrahim, and urged citizens to call authorities if they spot him.

Meanwhile, the government on Sunday indefinitely extended a curfew in Khartoum. A resident in Omdurman said troops were manning the streets, which were calm. But, he said, he could still hear sporadic gunfire in the distance. Watch a report on the fighting »

On Saturday, video footage from outside the capital showed a sky blackened by smoke from burning vehicles as throngs of onlookers crowded the streets.

Mohammed Al-Bily, who lives near Khartoum, said witnesses fleeing the fighting told him it started in a marketplace, and that the fighting destroyed a police station and the electric company.

The U.S. State Department spoke out against JEM on Saturday, condemning the group and calling for an immediate end to the fighting.

"These actions undermine the ongoing efforts of the international community to support resolution of the conflicts in Sudan," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack on Saturday. He said the United States "warns both sides against taking retaliatory action based on ethnicity or tribe."

Sudan suffered through a 22-year civil war that ended in 2005. Two million people died, and an estimated 4 million others were driven from their homes.

The war pitted a government dominated by Arab Muslims in northern Sudan against black Christians and animists in the south.

CNN's Sarah Sultoon, Nic Robertson and Elham Nakhlawi contributed to this report.

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