Sudanese authorities said the attack on the Sudanese capital by Darfur rebels was supported by Chadian President Idriss Deby. As a result, they cut diplomatic relations with Chad on Sunday (local time).

Darfur rebels’ conflict with Sudanese troops erupted in a suburb of Khartoum on Saturday in an attempt to seize power. The attack was defeated, according to the officials. “I would like to assure people that everything is now under control, the rebel forces have been totally destroyed,” said Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in a televised address Sunday.

Sudanese authorities added that troops were still hunting down rebels. “These forces are all basically Chadian forces supported and prepared by Chad and they moved from Chad under the leadership of Khalil Ibrahim,” President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on state television.

On the other hand, Chad accuses Sudanese authorities of arming rebels who launched an assault February on the Chadian capital, N'Djamena.

“These forces are Chadian forces originally, they moved from there led by Khalil Ibrahim who is an agent of the Chadian regime. It is a Chadian attack,” al-Bashir said Sunday morning.

“We are now cutting our diplomatic relations with this regime,” Bashir said in his comments, made after returning from the Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters. 

Khalil Ibrahim, leader of Darfur’s Justice and Equality movement – a rebel movement in Darfur, which includes ethnic African troops who protest against discrimination –, carried out the assault.  Rebel groups accuse the Khartoum regime of trying to impose barriers on a United Nations peacekeeping force that would try to establish security before peace talks. Sudan gave the green light for a peacekeeping force to enter the conflict-torn Darfur after a long period of negotiations.