Chad rebels seize town, EU troops under fire
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European Union peacekeepers have returned fire after coming under attack in eastern Chad, a spokesman said, as rebel forces briefly seized a nearby town and vowed to capture the capital, Ndjamena.
Rebel militia took the town of Goz Beida in south-east Chad, about 75 kilometres from the border with Sudan, on Saturday morning (local time) before withdrawing later in the day, with locals fearing a bigger confrontation on Sunday.
The firefight, in which no EUFOR troops were injured, took place shortly after noon about four kilometres north of Goz Beida, where troops were protecting the refugee camp at Djabal, Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Axelos told AFP.
"Engaged by unidentified armed elements, the soldiers fired back," he said.
Around 500 Irish and 70 Dutch troops make up the EUFOR contingent in the region, whose mission is to protect civilians and refugees fleeing Darfur.
The rebel forces left Goz Beida to rejoin other rebel soldiers in the area, according to their spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah, speaking by telephone.
Chad said the rebel force had some 500 to 600 vehicles and 7,000 to 8,000 men at their disposal, nearly double the number of a similar offensive in February.
Lieutenant-Colonel Axelos said that UN agencies asked the European troops for assistance and that "the EUFOR soldiers are currently proceeding to pick up the humanitarian workers with eight armoured vehicles".
Another rebel spokesman, Abdelwawid Abud Makaye, president of the Union of Democratic Forces for Fundamental Development (UFDD-F), said their forces "controlled the whole sector".
"We are now discussing strategy. When we took Goz Beida, we captured 20 army vehicles. We didn't take any injuries. However the army suffered several deaths," he said.
Chad's former colonial ruler, France, condemned the attacks by the rebels saying in a statement that "any armed action targeting Chad and its institutions can only be condemned."
"We call on all concerned parties to find a political solution," said a French foreign ministry statement.
Rebels in Chad threatened to target any French aircraft flying reconnaissance missions over their positions.
Goz Beida is a strategic town in the hilly south-east. Nearly 80,000 displaced Chadians and some 36,000 refugees from neighbouring Sudan's war-battered Darfur region live nearby in camps.
Another rebel source said a convoy of vehicles was heading towards the town of Mangalme, some 75 kilometres west of Goz Beida and 500 kilometres east of Chad's capital.
A government source in Ndjamena said the rebels "were moving to and fro between the border separating Chad and Sudan," where Chad says the rebels have rear bases.
Relations between Chad and Sudan have been difficult for more than five years with the two countries regularly accusing each other of supporting rebels factions fighting against their respective regimes.
Diplomatic relations broke off in mid-May after an attack near the Sudan capital Khartoum by a Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement. Ndjamena denied any involvement.
Rebels attacked Ndjamena in February, reaching the presidential palace in an attempt to drive out President Idriss Deby Itno. A similar unsuccessful coup attempt was made in 2006.
Since April, the army has largely had the upper hand in clashes in eastern Chad with extra resources deployed since February, according to European military officials.
- AFP
