HUNDREDS of rebels penetrated the capital of Chad yesterday, clashing with government troops and moving on the presidential palace after a three-day advance across the Central African nation, officials and witnesses said. Looting, gunfire and explosions have been reported.
Colonel Thierry Burkhard, a French military spokesman, said 1,000 to 1,500 rebel fighters spread through N'Djamena early in the morning. According to Chad's ambassador to Ethiopia, Cherif Mahamat Zene, President Idriss Deby was "fine" inside the pre
sidential palace.
A spokesman for the biggest rebel group said its forces had the presidential palace surrounded. "Many in the military have rallied with the rebels," said Mahamat Hassane Boulmaye of the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development. He claimed the rebels now control 80% of Chad.
The rebel force is believed to be a coalition of three groups, including the UFDD led by former diplomat Mahamat Nouri, who defected 16 months ago, and Timan Erdimi, a nephew of Deby. They have long fought to overthrow Deby, whom they accuse of corruption. Deby, himself a soldier, has suffered many defections in the past and morale in the army is low.
Ambassador Zene said: "The situation is under control. The head of state is fine in his palace. It's true that there are some rebels who have entered the city, but to say the city has fallen is false."
A leader of Chad's main opposition alliance, which is unarmed and not associated with the rebels, said shooting broke out after rebels entered the city around 8am but appeared to die down about two hours later. Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh said about 12.45pm that there were no soldiers in his neighbourhood and state radio had gone off the air.
"At the moment we are not hearing any firing. The rebels are in the city. Civilians are in the streets. They are watching what is happening," said Saleh.
The rebels had been advancing on the capital for three days in about 250 pick-up trucks from the direction of the border with Sudan, some 510 miles to the east of N'Djamena. Clashes broke out on Friday morning near Massakori, 30-50 miles north-east of N'Djamena and moved closer to the capital, said a French military spokesman.
The 52-nation African Union, holding a summit in Ethiopia, said it would not recognise the rebels should they succeed in seizing power. "If the rebellion succeeds, certainly we will excommunicate them from the African Union until normalcy and democratic institutions are restored," said Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete, the new AU head.
He said the AU had chosen Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi and Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso to try to broker peace.
France, the former colonial power, "firmly condemns the attempt to take power by force", the French foreign ministry said. France's military has about 1,400 personnel in Chad, about 1,200 in the capital. Paris sent more troops late on Thursday. About 1,500 French citizens live there, most in N'Djamena.
The French embassy in Chad sent messages over Radio France Internationale telling citizens to head to the Lycee Francais high school and two other locations in N'Djamena, a French diplomatic official said.
The US embassy said on its website that Americans seeking evacuation should immediately move to the embassy. The State Department said the embassy had authorised the departure of non-essential personnel and family members.
The United Nations has decided to pull staff out. "It's been decided that the UN will temporarily evacuate all their remaining staff," said William Spindler for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "We're looking at the logistics and how it can be done. Since there is fighting going on, it might be difficult to carry it out."
