Chad shuts Sudan border until further notice

Chad has announced the immediate closure of its border with Sudan following a series of deadly clashes between Chadian soldiers and armed groups linked to Sudan’s ongoing civil war.

In a statement issued on Monday, February 23, Communications Minister Mahamat Gassim Cherif said the decision was prompted by repeated cross-border incidents. “This decision follows repeated incursions and violations committed by the forces involved in the conflict in Sudan on Chadian territory,” he said, adding that the move was aimed at halting “any risk of the conflict spreading” into Chad.

Sudan has been gripped by a brutal conflict for nearly three years, with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces battling Sudanese government troops. The fighting has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced around 11 million people, creating what the United Nations has described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Chadian authorities say violence near the frontier has increasingly spilled over into their territory. At least nine Chadian soldiers have reportedly been killed in separate incidents since December, as Sudanese paramilitary fighters carried out operations close to the shared border.

Reaffirming Chad’s stance, the statement warned that the country “reserves the right to retaliate against any aggression or violation of the inviolability of its territory and its borders.”

The government also confirmed that “cross-border movements of goods and people are suspended” until further notice, although it noted that “exceptional exemptions” may be granted for humanitarian purposes.

The closure marks a significant escalation in tensions along the Chad-Sudan frontier, as regional governments grapple with the spillover effects of Sudan’s prolonged and destabilising war.