Seven Chadian soldiers were killed during a deadly confrontation near the country’s eastern border with Sudan, an incident the Chadian government says involved fighters linked to Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, underscoring how Sudan’s civil war continues to destabilize neighboring states.
Chadian authorities said the clash occurred Thursday near the border town of Tine, a remote area that has become increasingly volatile as fighting rages just across the frontier in Sudan.
Government spokesman and Minister of Communication Gassim Cherif Mahamat said armed fighters crossed from Sudan into Chadian territory, prompting Chadian troops to intervene and demand their withdrawal.
When the fighters refused to leave, an exchange of fire followed, resulting in the deaths of seven Chadian soldiers and injuries to others, Mahamat told reporters at a news briefing Friday.
A senior government official, speaking to AFP, identified the intruders as elements of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, the powerful paramilitary group locked in a devastating war with Sudan’s national army since April 2023.
Mahamat described the incident as a serious violation of Chad’s sovereignty and warned that further incursions would not be tolerated.
“We call on all parties involved in the conflict in Sudan to immediately cease violations of Chadian territory,” he said.
“This is our final warning,” Mahamat added, stressing that Chad would not allow its defense forces or civilians to be drawn into Sudan’s war.
The RSF has not issued a public response to Chad’s accusations, and independent verification of the circumstances surrounding the clash remains difficult due to limited access to the border region.
The confrontation marks one of the deadliest spillover incidents from Sudan’s conflict into Chad, which has struggled to maintain neutrality while absorbing the humanitarian fallout of the war.
Since fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and the RSF nearly two years ago, tens of thousands of people have been killed and about 12 million displaced inside Sudan, according to United Nations estimates.
Roughly one million Sudanese refugees have fled into Chad, placing immense pressure on the country’s fragile economy and overstretched humanitarian infrastructure, the U.N. refugee agency says.
Chadian officials said the latest clash follows a pattern of increasing instability along the porous border, where armed groups, smugglers and fighters frequently move across vast desert terrain with little oversight.
On Dec. 26, two Chadian soldiers were killed in a drone attack near the same border area, an assault authorities also attributed to the RSF.
Africanews cited Mahamat as saying Thursday’s incident involved an “incursion” by Sudan-based fighters, reinforcing concerns that the conflict is increasingly breaching international boundaries.
The border area around Tine has strategic significance because of its proximity to Sudan’s Darfur region, where some of the war’s worst atrocities have been reported.
Since October, RSF forces have carried out multiple operations near Chad’s eastern frontier after seizing El-Fasher, the Sudanese army’s last major stronghold in Darfur.
That offensive triggered global condemnation amid reports of mass killings, summary executions and systematic sexual violence attributed to RSF fighters, allegations the group has repeatedly denied.
The UAE, which has been accused by critics and advocacy groups of supporting the RSF, condemned the border violence, according to reporting by The Star, but did not directly attribute responsibility to the paramilitary group.
Sudan’s conflict has increasingly taken on a regional dimension, with neighboring countries facing security threats, refugee flows and economic disruptions tied to the fighting.
Chad shares a long and lightly monitored border with Sudan, making it particularly vulnerable to cross-border violence as armed factions maneuver for territory and supply routes.
Analysts say the latest incident highlights the limits of Chad’s efforts to remain insulated from Sudan’s war, despite repeated calls for restraint.
While Chad has avoided direct military involvement in Sudan’s conflict, the killing of its soldiers risks intensifying domestic pressure on the government to take a firmer security stance.
Regional security experts warn that continued border clashes could escalate into broader confrontations if left unchecked, particularly if armed groups perceive weak enforcement of territorial boundaries.
The situation also complicates humanitarian operations, as aid groups rely on cross-border access to deliver food and medical supplies to displaced civilians on both sides of the frontier.
Beyond immediate security concerns, the clash reflects the wider fragmentation of authority in Sudan, where competing armed factions operate with limited accountability.
Since the collapse of Sudan’s transitional government, diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire have repeatedly failed, allowing violence to spread unchecked.
Chad’s leadership has urged international mediators and regional organizations to intensify efforts to halt the fighting, warning that continued instability threatens the entire Sahel region.
For Chad, already grappling with poverty, climate shocks and internal security challenges, the spillover from Sudan’s war represents a growing strategic risk.
As long as Sudan’s conflict persists, analysts say, border nations like Chad are likely to face recurring violence, deepening humanitarian crises and heightened regional insecurity.
