NDJAMENA (AFP) - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has urged the international community to work closely with Chad to try to quickly find a political solution to the war in neighbouring Sudan's Darfur region.
"We must find a political solution as soon as possible, or we could experience a regional tragedy," Annan told reporters here late Thursday after holding talks with President Idriss Deby of Chad, which has hosted talks between Darfur rebels and the Sudanese government.
"We, the international community, will do everything to work with the Sudanese government and President Deby who has begun negotiations to find a solution and appease the situation, because if not, the tragedy we are witnessing now will be nothing compared to that which is looming," Annan warned.
Annan is touring Sudan and Chad on a visit focused on Darfur, where at least 10,000 people have been killed and more than one million forced from their homes since war broke out in February last year between black African rebels and the Arab government and a proxy militia group.
Ndjamena has brokered talks between Darfur rebels and the government in Khartoum which resulted in a ceasefire in April.
But both sides have accused the other of repeatedly violating the ceasefire, with the most recent accusations coinciding with Annan's arrival here, as Darfur rebels accused the Sudanese air force of bombing three villages in the western part of Sudan.
Khartoum counter-accused the rebels of attacking one of its army units in Darfur.
Chad has taken in some 120,000 refugees from Darfur, leaving itself open to cross-border attacks by marauding, pro-Khartoum militias.
"The best way to help Chad is to respond to the problem in Darfur, and we will therefore work with the Sudanese government and rebels to find a solution," said Annan.
"We ask the international community to bring pressure to bear on the rebels and the Sudanese government to create a solution that favours the return home of refugees. That is what we are working towards," said Deby.
"Since the start of this crisis, we have had no trade exchanges with Sudan. We are suffering the negative consequences of the crisis in Darfur," he said.
On Wednesday, the Chadian president urged the world to move quickly on the Darfur conflict to avoid a repeat of the Rwandan genocide in western Sudan.
"I ask the international community to act very quickly. If not, what is happening on our border could become a humanitarian tragedy," Deby said.
"The international community has the tragedy in Rwanda on its conscience. It has to act rapidly, not only to take in the refugees but also to create conditions for stability in Darfur, to return refugees to their original living places with all the required security to allow them to live in peace," he said.
Annan is due Friday to visit a camp of refugees from Darfur in Iriba, 60 kilometers (36 miles) inside Chad from the border with Sudan.
The United Nations has labelled the situation in Darfur the world's worst ongoing humanitarian crisis.