Stephanie Hancock

As the sun rises in Zakouma National Park, Nicolai Taloua loads his Kalashnikov with familiar ease. At his feet sit two metal ammunition boxes packed with bullets. Others around him are busy mounting a machine gun on to the roof of their car. For Nicolai this is a perfectly normal start to his working day, all part and parcel of the ongoing war between park rangers and elephant poachers. "It’s a dangerous life, but one we’ve accepted," says Nicolai.

Relations between Chad and Sudan are unlikely to improve despite a recent peace deal, and in the short term may even lead to more conflict, say analysts. It was hoped that the peace deal, brokered in Saudi Arabia last week and signed by both countries’ presidents, would help ease tensions along the Chad-Sudan border. But observers in the Chadian capital are not convinced.