Chadian rebels attack eastern town

October 18, 2007 (N’DJAMENA) — Chadian rebels attacked government troops in the eastern town of Goz Beida on Thursday, humanitarian workers said, just two days after the government declared a state of emergency in the remote border region.

“Since 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) there has been shooting on the streets and fighting in town,” said one Goz Beida resident who works for a foreign aid agency.

The resurgence in fighting came after European Union foreign ministers gave final approval on Monday for the deployment of up to 3,000 European peacekeeping troops in eastern Chad, which has been racked by recurring violence for the last two years.

President Idriss Deby’s government announced this month a peace deal in Libya with four rebel groups fighting a cat and mouse insurgency against his government in the desolate eastern region near the border with Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region.

Some of the rebel groups, however, contested details of the agreement.

(Reuters)