Troops in Chad Put Down Rebel Assault

[phantom power]

More oil wars. Which just gave me the idea for a new game. Can anybody identify a single chronic cess-pool of violence on planet earth today that doesn't have oil somewhere at the heart of it?

April 13,2006 | N'DJAMENA, Chad -- Government troops using tanks and attack helicopters repelled a rebel assault on Chad's capital Thursday. The president assured residents he remained in control, and he blamed Sudan, whose Darfur crisis has spilled over into his country.

(...)

Chad, a majority Muslim nation of 10 million in north central Africa, shares a border with Libya and Sudan. It recently began exporting oil, and rebels want control of the lucrative reserves -- Chad's only real resource.

An Exxon Mobil-led consortium exported 133 million barrels of oil from Chad between October 2003 and December 2005, according to the World Bank, earning Chad $307 million.

Deby has seen his authority undermined since the discovery of oil and the violence began in Sudan, where the government is accused of unleashing Arab tribal militias against African rebels and civilians.

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8GV7PIOB.html

[papau]

1. New York Times versiom of this embarrassment of a President for life

Rebels Are Repelled in Capital of Chad By MARC LACEY

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/13/world/africa/13cnd-chad.html?hp&ex=1144987200&en=9cbb245cb715e39b&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Published: April 13, 2006

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 13 — Armed rebels entered the Chadian capital of Ndjamena before dawn today but government troops beat them back in fierce fighting. The embattled President Idriss Deby later took to the airwaves to declare: "The situation is under control."

That may be have been an overstatement, however, as the rebels, known as the United Front for Democratic Change, vowed to continue their effort to overthrow Mr. Deby in advance of presidential elections called for May 3.

An undetermined number of rebels managed to creep into the capital under cover of darkness early today, prompting the government to unleash attack helicopters, tanks and artillery on them. As thick black smoke rose above the city center, government tanks took up key positions, and helicopters fired rockets at rebel positions, according to witnesses and news service reports.

Mr. Deby, who is seeking to extend his rule despite reaching the constitutional limit of two terms in office, sought to downplay what was a huge embarrassment for his government: a siege on the capital by rebels that had until recently been hundreds of miles away at the country's eastern frontier.<snip>

[Dead_Parrot]

2. Belfast

What do I win?

[phantom power]

3. Nobody wins the "cess-pool of violence" game

(I'm cheap that way)

[Dead_Parrot]

4. Thank god for that...

I thought it might be a long weekend for two in the Falls Road. :scared:

Belfast is pretty unusual, though. The four 'qualities' fueling the middle east violence are oil, nationalism, imperialism and religion: Belfast lacks the first but gets a double dose of the last.

Quite what Jesus would make of it, I really don't know.

[NNadir]

5. Chad has oil?

I thought they were doing poorly before, but when you add this, they're really in for it.

[Dead_Parrot]

6. Enough to fight over, it seems

There's some background here:
http://www.africafocus.org/docs05/oil0502.php
*sigh*