Chad: Rebels Enter Capital

2 February 2008
allAfrica.com

Rebel forces entered N'Djamena on Saturday and fighting was reported around the presidential palace, but government representatives denied the capital had fallen.

The BBC reported that although rebels said they had surrounded the palace, Chad's ambassador to Ethiopia, insisted that President Idriss Deby Itno  was "fine." A witness told the BBC that army tanks were burning in the streets.

Rebel columns have been reported as advancing on the capital for some days. Rebel spokesman Abakar Tollimi told Agence France Presse that they now controlled the city, although there were some "pockets of resistance".

The Associated Press reported that Chad's ambassador in Addis Ababa, Cherif Mahamat Zene, told the agency: "The head of state is fine in his palace ... It's true that there are some rebels who have entered the city, but to say the city has fallen is false."

Tagged:
Copyright © 2008 allAfrica.com. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.