US welcomes Chad-Sudan talks

"We hope that this meeting and the projected follow-on visit of a Chadian delegation led by Minister Faki to Khartoum will facilitate the normalization of their bilateral relations and contribute to peace and stability in the region," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement Sunday.
"To this end, we encourage Sudan and Chad to take meaningful and concrete steps to cease support for rebels operating on both sides of the Chad-Sudan border."
The militaries of Chad and Sudan have clashed after each country accused the other of harboring and giving support to rebel groups.
The western Darfur region of Sudan, bordering on Chad, has been gripped by rebellion and a brutal crackdown that has killed 300,000 people and displaced millions more, according to the United Nations, while Chadian rebels use Darfur as a rear base for cross-border attacks.
Kelly said Sunday that Washington "remains committed to working with all parties to reach a resolution of the conflict in Darfur, to relieve the humanitarian suffering in both Darfur and eastern Chad, and to restore peace in the region."
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