Chadian army, rebels battle near Sudan border

June 3, 2006 (N’DJAMENA) — Chadian army forces battled allegedly Sudanese-backed rebels in eastern Chad on Saturday while a key rebel leader from the country died abroad of a heart attack, the Chadian government said.

“A column of mercenaries in the pay of Khartoum, in 67 vehicles, this afternoon attacked the subprefecture of Tine in eastern Chad,” near the Sudanese border, a statement released by the office of Chad’s President Idriss Deby said.

“Our defence and security forces drove off the horde of mercenaries,” it added. The statement gave no further details of the fighting but said more information would be given later.

A Chad military source said the rebels were under orders from a former ally of Deby, Timane Erdimi, who turned against the president in December 2005 and has since become the head of an opposition movement.

The statement added that Mahamat Nour, the brains behind the United Front for Change (FUC) rebel group, had died from a heart attack in Dubai on Friday. It gave no further details.

Regarding Mahamat Nour, contradictory reports suggest also he is detained in Khartoum by the Sudanese security service.

The clashes in Tine were the first to be reported between rebels and the army since forces loyal to Deby crushed an attempted armed coup by the FUC against him in April.

Deby accused Sudan of backing the coup attempt.

(ST)