Deby accuses Janjawid of killing his civilians, vows punishment

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

DAKAR-- Chadian President Idriss Deby on Thursday blamed the Sudanese militia known as the Janjawid for this week's over-the-border-assault that killed dozens of civilians in eastern Chad.

"We are now absolutely certain that it is the Janjawid that carried out this incursion, as in the past, for reasons we do not know," Deby told Radio France Internationale. "What is sure is that they cannot go unpunished."

Chad has said that armed men in military uniform launched an attack in the eastern Ouaddai province on Monday, killing 36 herders and stealing livestock. Eight insurgents and two Chadian soldiers were killed in an ensuing clash, a government statement said.

Cross-border raids and armed clashes are not unusual in eastern Chad, which abuts Sudan's volatile Darfur region.