Chad closed its eastern border with Sudan on February 23 after five Chadian soldiers were killed in cross-border clashes linked to Sudan's brutal civil war, marking a sharp escalation in the conflict's regional spillover that threatens to destabilize a swath of central Africa.

The border closure followed multiple deadly incidents in recent months, including a December 26 drone strike that killed two Chadian soldiers and a March 18 attack on the town of Mabrouka that left at least 17 civilians dead. N'Djamena blamed both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—the two warring factions in Sudan's three-year civil war—for repeated violations of Chadian territory.

The decision underscores the growing risk that Sudan's internal conflict, which has already killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, could metastasize into a wider regional war. Chad, already hosting over 600,000 Sudanese refugees, now faces the prospect of being drawn directly into the fighting.

Repeated Violations Prompt Shutdown

"We cannot have our defense and security forces dragged into the conflict," Chadian government spokesperson Gassim Cherif said at a January 17 news conference after the first major border incident. By late February, with attacks continuing, Chad concluded that closure was the only way to protect its territory.

The frontier town of Tine, which straddles the Chad-Sudan border in Sudan's North Darfur region, has become a flashpoint. Both SAF and RSF forces have used Tine as a staging ground for operations, and drones launched from Sudanese territory have repeatedly struck Chadian positions.

In the December 26 incident, a drone took off from Sudan during a battle in Tine and crossed into Chad, striking an army base. Both SAF and the RSF blamed each other for the strike. A similar pattern repeated in March, when a drone hit Mabrouka, a Chadian town near the border, killing civilians and prompting Chadian security forces to launch a weapons search operation.

Chad's Delicate Balancing Act

The border closure places Chad in a difficult position. The country's stability is crucial to the broader Sahel region, which is already grappling with jihadist insurgencies, military coups, and the withdrawal of Western security partnerships in favor of Russian influence.

President Mahamat Déby, who came to power after his father was killed by rebels in 2021, has attempted to maintain neutrality in Sudan's civil war while managing the humanitarian crisis created by refugee flows. The border closure, however, cuts off a major crossing point for both refugees fleeing violence and humanitarian aid trying to reach Sudan's most desperate populations.

Chad's eastern region, extending into war-torn Sudan, is ethnically and culturally tied to Darfur. The conflict has inflamed longstanding tensions over land, resources, and ethnic identity that do not respect colonial-era borders. Chadian officials fear being sucked into proxy battles or facing domestic instability if violence continues to spill over.

Sudan's Civil War Shows No Signs of Abating

The Sudan conflict began in April 2023 when SAF, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as "Hemedti"), turned their weapons on each other after an uneasy power-sharing arrangement collapsed. What started in Khartoum has metastasized into a nationwide war with devastating humanitarian consequences.

Both sides have been accused of atrocities, including deliberate targeting of civilians, sexual violence, and blocking aid deliveries. International mediation efforts have repeatedly failed to produce a ceasefire. The war has created what the UN calls one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with over 10 million displaced and famine conditions emerging in multiple regions.

The conflict's spillover into Chad is part of a broader pattern of regional destabilization. Reports indicate fighters and weapons have moved across borders into the Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Libya as well. The risk of a wider conflagration grows as neighboring states are pulled into the vortex.

International Community Largely Absent

Despite the scale of the crisis, international attention to Sudan has been sporadic. Western governments distracted by conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have devoted limited diplomatic energy to Sudanese peace efforts. Regional powers like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have attempted mediation but are themselves accused of backing opposing sides in the war.

Chad's border closure may force a reckoning. If Sudan's civil war continues to threaten neighboring states' security, pressure will mount for a more robust international response—potentially including peacekeeping forces or coordinated sanctions. Whether the political will exists for such action remains uncertain.

For now, Chad's government is left trying to contain a conflict it did not create but cannot escape. The indefinite border closure, while protecting Chadian territory, does nothing to address the underlying catastrophe in Sudan that shows no sign of resolution. The fear in N'Djamena—and across the region—is that the worst is yet to come.