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.

Gazans flood through Egypt border

Thousands of Palestinians have surged into Egypt from the Gaza Strip after masked militants blew several holes in a border wall.
Gazans rushed to buy food, fuel and other supplies that have become scarce because of an Israeli blockade - aimed at stopping rocket attacks from Gaza.

Egypt has backed the closure and the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, has urged it to open its border.

Egyptian border guards took no action against the raid, eyewitnesses said.

Gaza has been short of fuel and other essential goods since last week, when Israel imposed the blockade.

It was eased slightly on Tuesday to allow some fuel and medicines through.

Early on Wednesday gunmen set off a number of explosions along the wall on the border.

Among the thousands of Gazans who crossed into Egypt near the town of Rafah was Ibrahim Abu Taha, a father of seven.

"We want to buy food, we want to buy rice and sugar, milk and wheat and some cheese," he told the Associated Press news agency.

Water cannon

Earlier on Wednesday, a Hamas militant was killed during an exchange of fire near Gaza's border with Israel, Palestinian officials said.

Both incidents came a day after 60 women were injured when Egyptian police broke up a protest against the siege at the Rafah crossing.

The BBC's Ian Pannell, who is on the Egyptian side of the border, says thousands of Palestinians have crossed through the breached wall and were stocking up on essentials, petrol and cigarettes.

Among them was Ibrahim Abu Taha, a father of seven, who told the Associated Press news agency:

"We want to buy food, we want to buy rice and sugar, milk and wheat and some cheese."

Water cannon

In 2005, Hamas militants blew up holes in the border with Egypt following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.

Wednesday's scenes at the Rafah crossing come a day after Egyptian police broke up a protest there by women.

In New York on Tuesday, Israeli and Palestinian envoys had clashed at the United Nations Security Council during a debate on Israel's blockade.

The Palestinian UN observer accused Israel of fuelling violence, while the Israeli envoy said his country had to protect its people from rocket attacks.

The council was considering a call for Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza freely.

Tuesday's council debate had been requested by Arab and Islamic states amid a growing international outcry at what the European Union termed the "collective punishment" of Gaza's 1.5m residents.

Some council members have been pushing for a compromise resolution, condemning the rocket attacks and recognising "Israel's rights to self-defence", but also urging the Israelis to lift the closure.

However Israeli representative Gilad Cohen denied that Israel was violating international law.

"It is the duty of all states to ensure the right to life and safety of its people, especially from vicious acts of violence and terrorism," he said, adding that Israel would "ensure the humanitarian welfare" of Gaza.