afrol News, 4 February - The government of Chad has been engaged in a fierce battle with rebels in the capital N'Djamena. The battle, which started when the rebels forced their way into the capital at the weekend, has forced thousands of people to flee.

Both sides claimed gaining the upper hand, although the rebels on Saturday seized large part of the capital as well as sealed the Presidential palace. The government said its heavy assault on the rebels has forced them to retreat.

But rebels [Union des forces pour la démocratie et le développement (UFDD)] said they retreated to allow the evacuation of civilian to take place.

Spokesman of the UFDD, Hassan Boulmaye, said his forces have not only heavily defeated the Chadian army, but they also seized their arms and ammunition.

The casualty figure is yet to be established, although many bodies could be seen lying in the streets of N'Djamena.

Hundreds of people have reportedly sustained injury in a rebel-government combat aimed at dislodging President Iris Debby from power.

Heavy fighting is continuing outside the capital. Again, it is not clear who is gaining the upper during another heavy fighting in the eastern town of Adre close to the Sudan border.

The French army has so far evacuated 500 foreigners and flown them to Gabon. Already, 200 of those evacuated have arrived in France.

Chad described the attack as an attempt by the Sudanese government for not allowing the deployment of EU forces in the region. Sudan has denied the accusations.

The UN convened an emergency meeting to discuss the issue. UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has called on both government and rebels to ceasefire.

The European Union has also condemned "any attempt to seize power by force" in Chad. Both sides have been asked to solve the crisis through "dialogue, political compromise and elections."

Debby has been ruling Chad since 1990 when he launched a coup d'etat. He has won three elections since then, but his challengers have accused his government of nepotism, favouritism and endemic corruption.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories