By Sonia Rolley
(Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo has asked Chad for military support to help fight a spiralling insurgency by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in its eastern provinces, a Chadian official and a source at the Congolese presidency said.
Congo’s Minister of Regional Integration met with Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno on Tuesday on behalf of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, Chad’s presidency said in a Facebook post.
Details on the discussions were not disclosed. A Chadian official with knowledge of the discussions said Chad was considering a request for support from Congo, but had not yet made a decision on the request.
A source at the Congolese presidency said on Wednesday that Congo had requested military and diplomatic support from Chad.
Neither source provided further detail. They declined to be named for confidentiality reasons.
Chad’s government spokesman Gassim Cherif did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Tshisekedi’s spokesperson, Tina Salama, said she did not have any information on the matter.
Last week, Chad’s Foreign Affairs Minister told Reuters that sending military support to Congo was “pure speculation”.
(Additional reporting by Mahamat Ramadane in N’Djamena; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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