Sudan and Chad agreed today to end their proxy wars and work together to rebuild their border areas, a move seen aimed at bolstering security and credibility before impending polls in both nations.
Chadian president Idriss Deby made a surprise visit to Khartoum for talks with President Omar Hassan al-Bashir after relations between the oil producers had hit rock bottom with each capital backing rebels fighting the other's government.
"I came with an open heart and hands outstretched to turn a new page in Sudanese-Chadian relations," Mr Deby told a gathering of Chadian and Sudanese nationals in Khartoum.
He called on the armed Chadian opposition groups, who have camps in Sudan's Darfur region, to take part in elections and win power through the ballot box not with bullets.
Chad, which has a history of flawed elections, will hold legislative polls this year and a presidential vote in May 2011.
"I will give you security guarantees so you can return to your country and ... rejoin civil society," Mr Deby said of the Chadian "mercenaries", who in 2008 besieged the presidential palace in N'Djamena but have suffered heavy defeats since.
Mr Deby, who has asked the United Nations not to renew the mandate of its MINURCAT border monitoring mission in the east, said on Tuesday the force had not fully deployed and was unable to fulfil its mandate and protect civilians.
"He is trying to undo the image of a belligerent," one diplomat said of Mr Deby's move to improve ties with Sudan. "He is trying to establish some legitimacy ahead of the elections."
Reuters