NDJAMENA (AFP) — Chadian government forces and rebels clashed Monday near the northeastern town of Biltine, some 750 kilometres (470 miles) from the capital Ndjamena, a senior government official said.
The rebels had earlier claimed to have entered Biltine, 100 kilometres north of the regional centre of Abeche, in their latest offensive against the government of President Idriss Deby Itno.
"Fierce fighting is taking place not far from Biltine," the government official said. "When the rebels came out of Biltine, they were intercepted by the army."
A military source said the army was attempting a pincer movement against the rebel National Alliance.
"The rebels are trying to lure us away from several points but the army has reinforced all the strategic zones," the source said, adding that the insurgents had come under bombardment and abandoned 17 vehicles.
Earlier National Alliance spokesman Ali Gueddei told AFP that Biltine would not be occupied, and that the rebels were now aiming at Mongo, in the centre of the country 400 kilometres east of Ndjamena.
Another National Alliance leader, Abderahman Koulamallah, contacted from Libreville, said the rebel strategy was to avoid heavily defended centres to minimise losses.
"Our current tactics are to stretch the government forces," he said. "Our fighters are trying to draw the army as far as possible from its bases, out of range of its tanks."
Koulamallah said the rebels were set for "a long war," adding that they were sufficiently well equipped to maintain their presence in the centre of the impoverished and largely desert country.
Koulamallah said earlier the rebels had some 500 to 600 vehicles and 7,000 to 8,000 men at their disposal, nearly double the number employed during their last offensive in February.
Meanwhile, the African Union on Monday condemned the rebel offensive in eastern and northeastern Chad after the National Alliance said its forces had entered the town of Goz Beida and Am Dam since the end of last week.
"The commission condemns the attacks by armed groups and reiterates its rejection... of all attempts to take power by unconstitutional means," the African Union said in a statement.
Fighting near Goz Beida on Saturday saw Irish members of the European Union force (EUFOR) protecting Sudanese refugees exchange fire with unidentified gunmen. There were no apparent casualties.
There are nearly 80,000 displaced Chadians and some 36,000 refugees from neighbouring Sudan's war-battered Darfur region living in camps around Goz Beida.
Staff with German and Italian aid agencies in the area said that their supplies had been pillaged, with vehicles stolen and a garage set ablaze in the attacks Saturday night.
The rebels said on Monday they wanted to reassure the non governmental organisations. Spokesman Gueddei said their safety would be guaranteed by the rebels.
France, which aided Deby's forces with intelligence in February to drive out the rebels from Ndjamena, where they had briefly surrounded the presidential palace, has said it does not intend to intervene.
The former colonial power "has not intervened and will not intervene," said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Sunday, adding that the claims about the rebels' progress towards the capital had been denied by EUFOR forces.
His comments were welcomed by the National Alliance, which called for France to maintain "strict neutrality."
The rebels on Friday had threatened to fire on any French aircraft flying reconnaissance missions over their positions.
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.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
