Bangui denies attack on Chad by CAR-based Libyan troops

Authorities of the Central African Republic (CAR) have officially denied an attack on Chad by Libyan troops stationed in CAR since 28 May 2001 when a coup attempt led by former President Andre Kolingba failed. "The Office of the President of the Republic requires from Chadian authorities to provide evidence about the presence of Libyan troops in Bouar and about the preparation of a Libyan attack against Chad from that locality," Prosper Ndouba, the CAR presidential spokesman, said in a communique read on government-owned Radio Centrafrique on Monday. The statement came after Chadian President Idriss Deby told Agence France Presse that the Libyan ambassador in the Chadian capital, Ndjamena, had reported that Libya was preparing to repatriate its troops from CAR. "The ambassador of Libya in Chad does not exercise his jurisdiction in CAR," said Ndouba, who added that relations between Libya and CAR remained excellent. Relations between CAR and Chad have been troubled since November 2001 when Gen Francois Bozize, former Chief of Staff of the CAR Army, and his supporters fled into Chad after an armed resistance in Bangui. The presence of Col Abdoulaye Miskine - whom the Chadian government believes to be a former Chadian rebel leader being protected by the CAR government as a soldier named "Martin Koumta-Madji", has further contributed to the escalation of animosity between the two nations. Repeated clashes have occurred in the border localities of Kabo, Batangafo and Moyenne Sido in CAR, as well as in Sido and Tissi in Chad. The latest clashes come as a report on recent border clashes is expected from the joint Communaute Economique et Monetaire des Etats d'Afrique Centrale-African Union-United Nations investigative mission chaired by Gabon's president, Omar Bongo.