Thousands flee fighting in Chad

Thousands of people are fleeing the Chad capital, N'Djamena, after two days of fierce fighting between government and rebel forces in the city.
The government says it has pushed the rebels out of the city but they say they withdrew to give civilians the chance to evacuate.

Aid workers report that fighting is continuing outside the city, while dead bodies litter the streets.

The European Union has delayed sending its peacekeeping force to Chad.

The EU force is intended to protect refugees from the Darfur region of neighbouring Sudan, as well as aid workers.

Chad accuses the Sudanese government of backing the rebel offensive in Chad in order to stop the EU force from being sent to the region.

Sudan denies this, as well as accusations that it has supported Arab militias accused of ethnic cleansing and genocide in Darfur.

Refugee concern

General Mahamat Ali Abdallah, who is commanding the government forces, said the rebels had been "completely routed".

But rebel spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah rejected this.

"We have pulled out of the city and we are waiting for the civilian population to be evacuated," he told AFP news agency.

"We certainly will go back on the offensive... We're asking the civilian population of Ndjamena to leave immediately because their safety cannot be assured."

N'Djamena is separated from Cameroon by the Ngueli bridge over the Logone-Chari river.

Thousands of people were streaming across the bridge, reports the Reuters news agency.

Local officials have told the UN refugee agency that thousands were also crossing at the border town of Kousseri.

"We're expecting a lot more people coming," said UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond.

He also said he was extremely concerned for the 240,000 Darfur refugees in Chad.

A plane chartered by the French government carrying 363 foreigners evacuated from Chad arrived in Paris on Monday morning.

Others have gone to Gabon.

The UN called an emergency meeting in New York to discuss the crisis and will meet again on Monday.

Before the meeting, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for a ceasefire.

In eastern Chad, the army said it had thwarted a second rebel attack on the town of Adre, near the border with Sudan.

'Window on genocide'

The area is home to some 400,000 people displaced as a result of the conflict in Darfur, who are living in camps.

Adre is in the area where a French-dominated EU peacekeeping force is due to deploy to protect displaced civilians and the aid workers supporting them.

France has a long-term military presence in Chad, one of its former colonies, giving the government intelligence and logistic support.

This has led the rebels to threaten to attack the EU peacekeeping force.

The government claimed the assault on the town had been backed by Sudanese aircraft.

Chad's Minister for Mines and Energy, General Mahamat Ali Abdallah Nassour, called the attack a "declaration of war" by Sudan.

"Sudan does not want this force because it would open a window on the genocide in Darfur," said Foreign Minister Amad Allam-Mi.

Sudan has repeatedly denied any involvement.

"Any developments in Chad reflect on Sudan and any instability there would have a negative impact on Sudan," said Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadeq.

Colonial ties

Chadian rebels seized control of large parts of the capital on Saturday, approaching the palace where President Idriss Deby was holding out.

China, a major investor in Chad's growing oil industry, also evacuated 210 of its citizens and two Taiwanese, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.

Mr Deby seized power in a coup in 1990, but has won three elections since then, although their legitimacy has been challenged.