Rebels Take Over Chad Capital

Rebels Take Over Chad Capital

news.bbc.co.uk

Fresh fighting has broken out between government and rebel forces in Chad's capital N'Djamena, reports say.
Heavy weapons fire was heard near the palace where President Idriss Deby is said to be holding out.

Rebels seized large parts of the city on Saturday, but military action subsided overnight as both sides claimed to be in control.
Henchi Ordjo, told Reuters news agency that the rebel fighters were simply holding back an assault on the palace to allow the president to leave.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Situation is really getting hairy down there. Luckily the French military has stepped in and protects foreigners in the Capital. Libyan leader Gaddafi is heading negotiations for a cease-fire. I hope that the conflict is resolved rapidly as the region is unstable enough without a prolonged fighting in Chad.

Also French military stated that first elements of the EU peace keeping force are to arrive to Chad-Darfur border later this week.

Feel free to give any insights to this issue as i don't know much about the background.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

An army tank defending the entrance to the national radio fired at anyone who showed themselves on the street, a witness told AFP.

"We did not take the airport so as not to hinder the evacuation of foreign nationals and now the French army is letting these helicopters take off and attack us," a rebel spokesman, Abderaman Khoulamallah, told AFP.

The fighting closed in on the airport and forced a temporary halt to the airlift of foreigners. But the French military said a Hercules plane carrying 104 people left Sunday morning.

uk.news.yahoo.com...

if thats true then its only time before the rebels starts shooting down airliners.

The government says it has pushed the rebels out of the city but they say they withdrew to give civilians the chance to evacuate.

Aid workers report that fighting is continuing outside the city, while dead bodies litter the streets.

The European Union has delayed sending its peacekeeping force to Chad.

The EU force is intended to protect refugees from the Darfur region of neighbouring Sudan, as well as aid workers.

Chad accuses the Sudanese government of backing the rebel offensive in Chad in order to stop the EU force from being sent to the region.

Sudan denies this, as well as accusations that it has supported Arab militias accused of ethnic cleansing and genocide in Darfur.

BBC

Have the Frexch troops given Chad goverment more than intelligence support that they've been giving for years?

[edit on 4-2-2008 by northwolf]

Some basic information about the military of Chad:

Soldiers at arms: 19,000-24,000
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $55.4 million

Air Force combat aircrafts:
Aermacchi SF-260 trainer/light attack - 2 in service

Aérospatiale Alouette III Utility/light attack helicopter - 2 in service

Mil Mi-8/-17 Hip Transport helicopter (armable) - 2 and 2 in service

Mil Mi-25 Hind Attack helicopter - 2 in service

Only Hi-25s are dedicated combat crafts, rest are rather armable utility crafts with interim ground attack abilities.

It's hard for me to follow everything that goes on! There always seems to be unrest in Africa. Well, the middle east included. And the rest of Asia. And...

So what does France have that is so invested in Chad that they would support the current leader? Bases and position? That is the conspiracy here. There is almost always a serpent's tongue behind those sleeves. Or (and this is in no way uncommon) are they somehow connected to all sides of the conflict?

The French have a military cooperation agreement with Chad. They control the airport, protecting the attack helicopters that are decimating the rebels and provide photographic recon support to Chad.

According to the UN yesterday, the rebels are given logistic support by Sudan. Their real aim is to hinder or delay the deployment of the European force "Eufor" on the Sudanese border.

The army has also said it had thwarted a second rebel attack on the town of Adre, near the border with Sudan over the weekend.

This is where the refugees from Darfur are based, living in camps and where the EU force is due to deploy.

The EU force is intended to protect refugees from the Darfur region of neighbouring Sudan, as well as aid workers.

BBC

Seems like the civil war is sparking up all over the country...

BBC

The United Nations Security Council has called on all member-states to back the Chadian government following two days of clashes with rebels in Ndjamena.

Correspondents say this will be taken by former colonial power France, which has a base in Chad, as an endorsement of the support it has been providing.

But France's Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, later said he did not foresee it launching any military operations.

Earlier, thousands of people fled the capital during a lull in fighting.

Many crossed the river border with Cameroon via the Ngueli bridge or by using boats.

Local officials told the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, that thousands were also crossing at the border town of Kousseri and that more were expected.

But, at the same time, France wants to pursue a modern, European destiny - it wants a French-dominated European Union peacekeeping force, including Irish and Polish troops, to intervene in the crisis, he adds.

The rebels have previously threatened to attack the force because of France's support for the Chadian government, forcing its deployment to be delayed.

The next few days may reveal whether the French forces already in Chad will openly fight the rebels to pave the way for the European force, he says.