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.

9 Iraqi civilians accidentally killed

The civilians were killed Saturday near Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of the Iraqi capital, U.S. Navy Lt. Patrick Evans told The Associated Press. Three wounded civilians were taken to U.S. military hospitals nearby, he said.

Evans did not give details about exactly how the people died, but said the killings occurred as U.S. forces pursued suspected al-Qaida in Iraq militants. The incident is under investigation, he said.

Iraqi police said the victims, including two women, were in two houses in the village of Tal al-Samar, which was bombed by American warplanes late Saturday. They were all Sunni members of the al-Ghrir tribe, an officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.

The U.S. airstrike occurred after an American convoy came under enemy fire in Tal al-Samar and soldiers called for air support, the Iraqi officer said.

Shortly after the incident, American officers met with a Muslim sheik representing citizens in the area, Evans said.

"We offer our condolences to the families of those who were killed in this incident, and we mourn the loss of innocent civilian life," he said in a statement e-mailed to the AP.

In November, a leader of one of the so-called awakening councils — groups of Sunni tribesmen allied with American forces who are fighting to oust al-Qaida from their hometowns — said U.S. soldiers killed dozens of his fighters during a 12-hour battle north of Baghdad.

The leader, Mansour Abid Salim of the Taji Awakening Council, accused American troops of mistaking his men for militants. The U.S. military admitted killing 25 men, but said they were insurgents operating "in the target area" where al-Qaida was believed to be hiding.

The U.S. military investigated that incident, but the two versions of events were never reconciled.

A month later, the U.S. military said its forces accidentally killed two people during a raid in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad, and that one of them was later revealed to be an awakening council member.

The U.S. military said Monday that it had accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians during an operation targeting al-Qaida in Iraq — the deadliest known case of mistaken identity in recent months.

Chad capital hit by new fighting

Fresh fighting has broken out between government and rebel forces in Chad's capital N'Djamena, reports say.
Heavy weapons fire was heard near the palace where President Idriss Deby is said to be holding out.

Rebels seized large parts of the city on Saturday, but military action subsided overnight as both sides claimed to be in control.

More than 500 French and other foreign citizens have been evacuated to the Gabonese capital, Libreville.

The arriving evacuees appeared "harassed but happy", an AFP news agency journalist in Libreville said.

"It's been a hard, exhausting day. We didn't know how things might turn out," one mother told the agency.

Of the 514 evacuated, 217 were French and the rest included Germans, Belgians, Spanish, Portuguese, Armenians and Egyptians.

About 400 others are gathered in designated areas in N'Djamena, guarded by French troops.

Ceasefire

Witnesses heard anti-tank and automatic weapons fire coming from the city centre, starting at about 0500 local time (0400 GMT).

AFP reported that government helicopters had attacked a column of rebels in the south of the city heading towards the main radio station.

French Mirage combat planes have also been overflying the area.

French officials say Paris is neutral in the military conflict but politically backs Mr Deby's government.

France has also offered to evacuate Mr Deby but he refused to go, French officials told AFP.

Meanwhile French Defence Minister Herve Morin confirmed that the Chadian army chief of staff, Daoud Soumain, had been killed in combat during the rebel advance on the capital.

The fighting comes despite reports of a ceasefire brokered by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Rebel spokesman Abderamane Khoulamanla confirmed reports that Colonel Gaddafi had called rebel leader Mahamat Nouri to propose a ceasefire.

"Our leader replied that he would agree to that if his two other partners in the rebellion would agree as well," Mr Khoulamanla said.

'Assault planned'

Another rebel spokesman, Henchi Ordjo, told Reuters news agency that the rebel fighters were simply holding back an assault on the palace to allow the president the chance to leave.

"No ceasefire has been agreed," he said.


The African Union has charged Libya with overseeing the response to the rebellion in Chad, which was condemned at the end of the organisation's summit in Ethiopia.

There was heavy fighting throughout Saturday after thousands of rebels entered N'Djamena in the morning.

They began their advance on the city from near Chad's eastern border with Sudan earlier this week.

There were reports of outbreaks of looting, and of residents cheering on the rebel forces in some areas of the city.

Troubled rule

The BBC's Stephanie Hancock, recently based in Chad, says insecurity has been the hallmark of Mr Deby's 17-year rule.

In 2005, he changed the constitution so that he could run for a third term in office, which sparked mass desertions from the army.

The situation was made worse by the accumulation of oil wealth by Mr Deby and his entourage.


There is also tension with Sudan. Chadian officials say Khartoum is nervous about the deployment of EU troops in Chad and a joint AU/UN force in Sudan's western region of Darfur - both with the mandate of protecting civilians affected by fighting in Darfur.

France dominates the EU force bound for Chad, whose deployment has been delayed because of the fighting.

Some 100 troops Austrian and Irish troops had been due to arrive last Thursday.

Chadian officials have accused the rebels of seeking to stop the deployment of the EU force.

Both the Chadian and Sudanese governments support rebels in each others' territory.

watch out for more updates on chad

Police search for Chicago store gunman

Five women shot to death in clothing store during apparent robbery

Police were searching for a man they said fled a clothing store in a Chicago suburb where five woman were shot to death during an apparent robbery.

Officers with guns drawn swept through neighboring shops, aisle by aisle, at the Brookside Marketplace strip mall shortly after the shootings Saturday, but found no trace of the gunman.

Attempts to find him with dogs and a helicopter equipped with infrared sensors also failed, authorities said.

Officers found the victims, including at least one employee, at the back of the Lane Bryant store after receiving a 911 call around 10:45 a.m, police said. Chief Mike O'Connell said a bystander told officers he had seen a stocky black man leave the store, describing him as about 5 feet 9 inches tall, and wearing a black winter coat, a knit cap and dark pants.

Authorities said robbery was believed to be the motive. The store did not have its own security camera, O'Connell said, but investigators were trying to determine if there was video from cameras mounted at nearby stores.

"We do not want to compromise any evidence that may be out there ... I ask we keep family of the victims in our thoughts and prayers," he said.

‘So scared I couldn't think’
In a Target store across the parking lot from Lane Bryant, terrified customers were herded to the front as police with pistols and rifles drawn went up and down the aisles and into storerooms searching for the gunman.

"I was so scared I couldn't think," said Selena Kujawa, who had just entered the store with her 5-year-old son when it was locked down. After about an hour, customers were told to leave.

"They told us to get in our cars and get out of here," Kujawa said.

The Lane Bryant was open at the time of the shootings. Police would not identify the victims, but said they ranged in age from 22 to 37. Four were from suburban Chicago and one was from South Bend, Indiana.

One victim identified
The family of Carrie Hudek Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort, said she was one of the victims.

"She is the most wonderful person, and that maniac took a piece of all of us," Chiuso's sister-in-law Jennifer Hudek told the Chicago Tribune for a story posted on its Web site Saturday.

Chiuso, a 1993 graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School, was a social worker at the school.

"Carrie was deeply loved by faculty and staff," school spokesman Dave Thieman said in a statement. "She had a real touch with students. The entire H-F family is deeply saddened."

The police chief said no further information would be made available until Sunday afternoon, after forensic exams were completed.

Police allowed shoppers into parts of the strip mall later Saturday, but had cordoned off the store.

The small red and brown brick Lane Bryant is part of a cluster of four or five stores isolated on one side of a large blacktop parking lot, with big box stores including Target and a Best Buy several hundred yards away.

Messages left at Lane Bryant Brand headquarters were not immediately returned.

Lane Bryant is part of plus-size women's apparel retailer Charming Shoppes Inc., based in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, which also owns the Fashion Bug and Catherines brands.

Candidates making Super Tuesday push

"I assume that I will get the nomination of the party," McCain told reporters, the front-runner so confident that he decided to challenge rival Mitt Romney in his home state of Massachusetts.

Romney, on the other hand, celebrated a caucus victory in Maine and told reporters he plans to do well Tuesday, "planning on getting the kind of delegates and support that shows that my effort is succeeding, and taking that across the nation. ... I am encouraged by the support which I'm seeing grow for me."

Clinton stressed pocketbook issues, the home mortgage crisis in a discussion with voters in a working class neighborhood, and health care at a noisy rally in California attended by former Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson. "This is a cause that is the central passion of my public life," she said, and jabbed at Obama on the issue.

"My opponent will not commit to universal health care. I do not believe we should nominate any Democrat who will not stand here proudly today and commit to universal health care," she said in the continuation of a monthslong debate over which candidate's plan would result in wider coverage among the millions who now lack it.

Obama stopped in Idaho, where caucuses offer a mere 18 delegates on Tuesday, and he worked to reassure Westerners on two fronts.

"I've been going to the same church for more than 20 years, praising Jesus," he told an audience in Boise, warning his listeners not to believe e-mails that falsely say he is a Muslim.

In a region of the country where hunting is a way of life, he also said he has "no intention of taking away folks' guns." The Illinois senator did not mention his support for gun control legislation.

The two remaining Democratic rivals compete in primaries in 15 states as well as caucuses in seven more plus American Samoa on Tuesday, the busiest day of this or any other nominating campaign. A total of 1,681 delegates is at stake, including 370 in California alone, and the two campaigns have said they do not expect either side to emerge with a lock on the nomination.

Both have already begun turning their attention to Feb. 12 primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Obama told reporters on a flight from Boise to Minneapolis that he thinks the race for votes on Tuesday is getting tighter, even though the schedule seems to favor the more well-known Clinton. "I don't think that there is any doubt that we've made some progress. I don't think that there's any doubt that Senator Clinton — she's still the favorite," he said on the way to a rally that drew 20,000 people to the Target Center.

The Republican political landscape is different for McCain, Romney, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, with nine of the 21 contests on the ballot awarding delegates winner-take-all to the top vote-getter.

At a stop in Minnesota, Romney called his caucus victory Saturday in Maine, where he took little over 50 percent of a presidential preference vote, "a people's victory," noting that it came despite McCain endorsement by the state's two U.S. senators.

"It is, in my view, also an indication that conservative change is something that the American people want to see. I think you're going to see a growing movement across this country to get behind my candidacy and to propel this candidacy forward," Romney said. "I think it's a harbinger of what you're going to see on Tuesday."

Without mentioning him by name, Romney also took a jab at McCain, telling an audience in Edina: "I don't think we win the White House by getting as close to Hillary Clinton as we can be without being Hillary Clinton."

Clinton, Obama, Huckabee and Paul participated via satellite in a televised youth forum during the evening. The event was sponsored by MTV, The Associated Press and MySpace.

Each appearing separately, the Democrats pitched their college aid proposals; Huckabee, his theory of "vertical" leadership that breaks through the "horizontal" politics of left and right; and Paul, his belief that government is best when it gets out of people's way.

Clinton, noting Democrats are choosing between a female and a black candidate, said: "Whichever of us gets the nomination, we are making history," and asserted she is the best equipped to lead. Equally mindful of history, Obama said the contest is not about the race or the sex of the candidates.

If it were just about his race, he said, "I wouldn't have to answer questions. I could just show up."

McCain's rivals have essentially conceded him New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Arizona, five winner-take-all states with 251 delegates combined.

That left McCain free to spend Saturday in Huckabee's probable area of strength, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. All three are home to large numbers of evangelical voters who have been slow to swing behind the Arizona senator on his march through the early primaries and caucuses.

He worked to reassure conservatives, telling them he had a 24-year record in the Senate of "fighting for the rights of the unborn" and boasting he never asked for a single earmark or pork barrel project for his home state of Arizona.

As for the slowing economy, he said the Senate must "stop fooling around and pass the president's stimulus package .... and restore some confidence."

McCain made no mention of Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who is his closest pursuer in the race, or of Huckabee, the Baptist preacher-turned-politician.

In Tennessee, McCain made a pitch for the supporters of campaign dropout Fred Thompson, a former Tennessee senator. "He is a fine man. I had the distinct pleasure and honor of sitting next, my desk right next to Fred Thompson for eight years in the United States Senate," he said. Thompson has not endorsed any of the remaining candidates.

Before campaigning in Minnesota, Romney attended the funeral of Mormon Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in Salt Lake City. Romney would be the first Mormon to sit in the White House if he wins the presidency.

Huckabee campaigned across Alabama, taking thinly veiled swipes at McCain and Romney.

"You really would like to get a president to agree with himself on some issues," he said in a reference to Romney, who has switched positions on key issues since he ran against Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy in Massachusetts in 1994. As for McCain and the need to control federal spending, he said, "It doesn't make sense that someone would be sent to the White House who has a Washington address."

McCain emerged as the front-runner in the Republican race with a victory in the winner-take-all primary in Florida last Tuesday. In the days since, he has begun collecting endorsements from establishment figures ranging from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to former Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma.

But a significant number of conservatives remain vocally opposed to him, and Romney hopes to take advantage of their unwillingness to swing behind a longtime party maverick.

"It's going to destroy the Republican Party," radio show host Rush Limbaugh has said of a McCain nomination. Ann Coulter, the conservative author and commentator, has said she would prefer Clinton in the White House over McCain, adding, "I will campaign for her."

___

Associated Press writers Mike Glover in California and Arizona, Glen Johnson in Utah and Minnesota, Nedra Pickler in Idaho, Philip Rawls in Alabama, Liz Sidoti in Tennessee and Philip Elliott in New York contributed to this report.

5 Shot Dead At Suburban Chicago Store

A gunman fatally shot five women in a robbery at a store in a suburban Chicago strip mall before fleeing Saturday, leading police to sweep through neighboring shops as terrified customers watched.

The victims, including at least one employee, were killed at a Lane Bryant clothing store at the Brookside Marketplace, police Chief Mike O'Connell said.

Officers found the victims at the back of the store after getting a 911 call around 10:45 a.m. Police said a bystander told them that a man came out of the store and gave them a description.

Authorities said robbery was believed to be the motive. Police searched for the gunman using dogs and a helicopter equipped with infrared sensors but concluded he left the stores off Interstate 80 southwest of downtown Chicago.

"We do not want to compromise any evidence that may be out there ... I ask we keep family of the victims in our thoughts and prayers," O'Connell said.

In a Target store across the parking lot from Lane Bryant, terrified customers were herded to the front as police with pistols and rifles drawn went up and down the aisles and into storerooms searching for the gunman.

"I was so scared I couldn't think," said Selena Kujawa, who had just entered the store with her 5-year-old son when it was locked down. After about an hour, customers were told to leave.

"They told us to get in our cars and get out of here," Kujawa said.

Kujawa said her son was still asking about the shooting long after they had gotten home.

"He asked `What happened to the people? Did they catch the bad guy?'" she said. "There will be lots of nightmares tonight."

Meanwhile, the Chicago Police Department warned its officers to pay attention to strip malls and other Lane Bryant stores, police spokeswoman Monique Bond said.

Tinley Park police Sgt. T.J. Grady said investigators were trying to determine if there was video from security cameras mounted at nearby stores. O'Connell said the Lane Bryant store did not have a camera.

The Lane Bryant was open at the time of the shootings. O'Connell would not identify the victims, but said they ranged in age from 22 to 37. Four were from suburban Chicago and one was from South Bend, Ind.

The police chief said no further information would be made available until Sunday afternoon, after forensic exams were completed.

The family of Carrie Hudek Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort, said she was one of the victims.

"She is the most wonderful person, and that maniac took a piece of all of us," Jennifer Hudek, Chiuso's sister-in-law, told the Chicago Tribune for a story posted on its Web site Saturday.

Chiuso, a 1993 graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School, was a social worker at the school.

"Carrie was deeply loved by faculty and staff," school spokesman Dave Thieman said in a statement. "She had a real touch with students. The entire H-F family is deeply saddened."

Police were allowing some shoppers into parts of the strip mall later Saturday, but had cordoned off the store.

Tracy Caccavella was shopping at a Pet Smart store late Saturday morning across the parking lot from the Lane Bryant when she saw police enter the pet supply store.

"Six police entered the store with their hands on their gun holsters," Caccavella said.

The small red and brown brick Lane Bryant is part of a cluster of four or five stores isolated on one side of a large blacktop parking lot, with big box stores including Target and a Best Buy several hundred yards away.

Two large county vans backed up to the front of the building Saturday afternoon and a white canopy was placed over the front of the building.

Messages left at Lane Bryant Brand headquarters were not immediately returned.

Lane Bryant is part of plus-size women's apparel retailer Charming Shoppes Inc., based in Bensalem, Pa., which also owns the Fashion Bug and Catherines brands.

MORE CRISIS FROM AFRICA

Chadian forces are beating back rebels who had advanced towards the presidential palace in the capital N'Djamena, the French military says.
Thousands of rebels advanced into the city on Saturday and said they had surrounded the palace.

But Chad's ambassador to Ethiopia said the city had not fallen and President Idriss Deby was "fine" in his palace.

The French Foreign Ministry condemned the attempt to "seize power by force", blaming "armed forces from outside".

The rebels began their advance on N'Djamena from near Chad's eastern border with Sudan earlier this week. Both the Chadian and Sudanese governments support rebels in each others' territory.

There has been intense gunfire in the city centre. A witness told the BBC that 30 army tanks were burning in the streets.

French military spokesman Col Thierry Burkhard said Chadian government forces were pushing the rebel forces out of the city, but added that there was not a clear front line. He said fighting was "sporadic".

He was not able to confirm the whereabouts of President Deby.

'Windows shaking'

Earlier, rebel spokesman Abakar Tollimi told AFP news agency that the rebels controlled the city, although there were some "pockets of resistance".

He said that the president was able to leave the palace if he wanted to. Earlier he had said Mr Deby would fall within hours.

France said it was preparing to evacuate its citizens and called on people to stay indoors.



French Defence Ministry spokesman Christophe Pazouk earlier told the BBC the rebel force in the city consisted of several thousand men, and that they had entered the city surprisingly easily.

A witness in the city told the BBC that the town was under the rebels' control and they were firing into the air in celebration.

There were reports of outbreaks of looting, and of residents cheering on the rebel forces in some areas of the city.

"From the third-floor we can see smoke coming from about a kilometre and a half away near the presidential palace," US aid worker Katie-Jay Scott told the BBC.

"The gunfire and artillery shakes the windows of the hotel."

A bomb hit the residence of Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Chad, killing the wife and daughter of an embassy employee, the Saudi foreign ministry said.

The African Union called for an end to the rebels' advance, and said it would expel Chad from the organisation if they took power.

"The assembly strongly condemns the attacks perpetrated by armed groups against the Chadian government and demands that an immediate end be put to these attacks and resulting bloodshed," the AU said in the final declaration of its summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Friction with Sudan

The BBC's Stephanie Hancock, recently based in Chad, says insecurity has been the hallmark of Mr Deby's 17-year rule.

But the tide began to turn in 2005 when he changed the constitution so that he could run for a third term in office, she says.

This prompted mass desertions from the army, and the situation was made worse by the accumulation of oil wealth by Mr Deby and his entourage.

There is also tension with Sudan. Chadian officials say Khartoum is nervous about the deployment of EU troops in Chad and a joint AU/UN force in Sudan's western region of Darfur - both with the mandate of protecting civilians affected by fighting in Darfur.

French involvement

About 150 French troops have arrived to help evacuate some 1,500 expatriates, the vast majority of whom live in N'Djamena.

AFP said a French army airbus was preparing to fly to Chad to take part in an eventual evacuation.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy held a meeting to discuss the crisis late on Friday night with senior ministers and military figures.

The BBC's Alasdair Sandford, in Paris, says France is directly involved in the crisis.

It dominates the EU force bound for Chad, whose deployment has been delayed because of the fighting. Some 100 troops Austrian and Irish troops had been due to arrive last Thursday.

Under a 30-year-old agreement, the French military gives logistical and intelligence support to Chad's government.

But late last year, one of the rebel groups, the UFDD, declared a "state of war" against French and other foreign forces because it said they were "bringing diplomatic, strategic and logistical aid" to the president.

Chad's Foreign Ministers Ahmat Allami has accused Sudan of instigating the rebel advance in order to stop the deployment of the EU force:

"Sudan does not want this force because it would shine a light on all the genocide that is taking place in Darfur orchestrated from Chadian territory," he told the BBC.

Are you in Chad? Have you been affected by the fighting? Tell us what is happening where you are by using the form below: