Chadian army clashes with rebels in east
Dec 7, 2006 (N’DJAMENA) — Heavy fighting broke out between the Chadian army and rebels opposed to the regime of President Idriss Deby Itno who have seized and encircled the small eastern town of Biltine, rebel and military officials confirmed.
“There was heavy combat between our forces and the Chadian national army,” General Mahamat Nouri, head of the rebel Union of Forces for Development and Democracy (UFDD), told AFP by satellite phone.
“The clashes ceased at about 6:00 pm local time (1700 GMT) when night fell,” he said. “It is too early to give a toll.”
“Our troops are still in Biltine and the government forces are nearby,” Nouri added.
The clashes were confirmed by a government official, without giving any further details.
The rebel column had entered Biltine, 150 kilometres (around 90 miles) from the border with Sudan, on Thursday morning without encountering any resistance from government soldiers stationed there, rebels and military officials said.
The army reacted by ordering troop reinforcements from elsewhere to march on Biltine.
The reinforcements were sent in from the Guereda, near the Sudanese border, and Abeche, the main town in eastern Chad.
A military officer said other rebel columns had been seen in the region, leading the authorities to fear a new attack on Abeche, which the rebels briefly seized in late November.
On Thursday evening Defence Minister General Bichara Issa Djadallah was in Abeche and army troops there were on alert, the military official said on condition of anonymity.
During the past two weeks, rebel movements opposed to President Deby have stepped up attacks in the east of Chad, taking control of several locations before pulling back to avoid army counter-offensives.
The military operations have restricted the ability of the United Nations and aid agencies to provide assistance to the 200,000 refugees who fled there from the neighbouring Sudanese province of Darfur and the 90,000 Chadians displaced by the violence.
The government of Chad accuses Sudan of supporting the UFDD, while Sudan accuses Chad of backing rebel movements in Darfur.
(AFP)