Chad Military Massing on Capital Road

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By MICHELLE FAUL Associated Press Writer

November 26,2006 | LAMIDJA, Chad -- Chadian soldiers in heavily armed pickup trucks were massing along a strategic road Sunday as a rebel convoy was spotted heading toward the capital of this volatile African nation.

As dusk fell in the capital, N'djamena, usually bustling streets quickly emptied as rumors flew that the rebels might arrive within hours. Government troops set up roadblocks in Lamidja, about six miles from the capital, and were searching cars and fighting-age men.

The Forces for Democracy and Development, known by the French acronym UFDD, is a union of several rebel groups opposed to President Idriss Deby, who first took power at the head of his own rebel army in 1990. The group has had sporadic clashes with the government since 2005 and launched a failed attack on the capital in April.

The competition for power has become more intense since Chad began exporting oil in 2004.

In a radio broadcast Sunday, Chad's communications minister, Moussa Doumgor, repeated accusations that neighboring Sudan is financing the rebels. He also added a new dimension to the conflict, accusing Saudi Arabia of supporting the rebels as well. Sudan denied the accusation.

On Saturday, the rebels launched an attack and claimed to have seized Abeche, the largest city in the country's volatile east, but pulled out Sunday before government troops arrived. A U.N. agency report confirmed that a rebel convoy had been spotted crossing a village west of Abeche, driving toward the capital on the sole highway linking the two regions.

Abeche, 550 miles east of the capital, is the base for dozens of aid organizations looking after 200,000 refugees from Sudan's Darfur and 50,000 displaced Chadians. The U.N. refugee chief said the violence is threatening aid delivery.

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Chad says capital not threatened by rebels
26 Nov 2006 20:21:45 GMT

N'DJAMENA, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Chad's government on Sunday denied reports that a rebel column was 400 km (250 miles) away and advancing on the capital N'Djamena, saying the city was in no danger.

"Contrary to reports of the presence of a so-called column of rebels 400 km from the capital, N'Djamena, the government categorically denies this information. It also reassures the population that N'Djamena is in no way threatened," the government said in a statement.

Earlier France, which has a military contingent stationed in Chad, warned its citizens in the unstable central African country that a rebel column was moving westwards on the main highway towards N'Djamena.

Soldiers fortify positions in Chad

November 27 2006 at 03:09PM

By Halime Assadya Ali

N'djamena, Chad - Heavily armed Chadian soldiers began reinforcing their positions in the capital, N'djamena, on Monday amid fears of a fresh rebel attack on the city.

Troops were positioned throughout the capital, cordoning off key government buildings and supported by at least a dozen tanks guarding the main entrances to the city. Schools have been closed and residents of N'djamena have been panic buying in markets and shops.

At dawn a French Mirage fighter jet conducted low-level reconnaissance flights over the capital and surrounding areas.

On Sunday government troops set up roadblocks in Lamadji, about 10km from the capital, and were searching cars and fighting-age men.

The Forces for Democracy and Development, known by the French acronym UFDD, is a union of several rebel groups opposed to President Idriss Deby, who first took power at the head of his own rebel army in 1990. The group has had sporadic clashes with the government since 2005 and launched a failed attack on the capital in April.

The competition for power has become more intense since Chad began exporting oil in 2004. The rebels have been able to exploit volatility in neighbouring Sudan, establishing rear bases in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, which borders eastern Chad.

Both France and Britain have issued warnings of reports of rebel forces heading toward the capital, urging against all travel to Chad. The Chadian government has denied rebels were 400km from the capital and said they were no longer advancing.

On Saturday, rebels launched an attack and claimed to have seized Abeche, the largest city in the country's east, but pulled out Sunday before government troops arrived.

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CHAD: Aid agencies worry about staff safety after attack
27 Nov 2006 15:30:25 GMT
Source: IRIN

NDJAMENA, 27 November (IRIN) - Relief agencies in the eastern Chadian town of Abeche were considering evacuating non-essential staff after rebels on Saturday overran the area, which serves as a hub to assist tens of thousands of refugees and internally displaced Chadians.

"We're considering our options," Marcus Prior, West Africa spokesman for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), told IRIN on Monday. "We want to maintain our essential staff in Abeche so we will be doing everything we can to do that. Although, obviously, we want to watch the situation as it evolves and certainly when it's possible, look to relocate our non-essential staff."

Prior said a WFP warehouse, including 483 tonnes of food aid worth about US $500,000, as well as that belonging to the UN refugee agency, had been looted. All staff members were safe.

It was not immediately clear who ransacked the warehouses, although witnesses reported that once several columns of rebels entered Abeche, civilians took the opportunity to loot and burn government offices, as well as the home of the governor and of President Idriss Deby, who was not in Abeche at the time. Part of his house was burned as well. Several prisoners were set free, including some in handcuffs and with chains on their ankles.

"For the moment there is score settling and that is what is dangerous," said one resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "In my opinion, the rebels didn't do anything bad to the local population. On the contrary, it was the locals who profited from their entrance into town. Police are patrolling the neighbourhoods to recover things that were stolen. People are scared so they have begun to give things back."

Abeche serves as a key base for aid operations in eastern Chad, assisting 218,000 refugees from Sudan's neighbouring Darfur region as well as 90,000 IDPs. Chad has accused Sudan of harbouring the rebels and Sudan denies this.

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28 Nov 2006 13:34:23 GMT
By Stephanie Hancock

N'DJAMENA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Chadian rebels said on Tuesday they shot down a government military plane with a captured ground-to-air missile in fighting near the eastern town of Abeche, which they briefly seized at the weekend.

"The plane was shot down by a missile launched by our forces. It was attacking our positions," Mahamat Nouri, leader of the rebel Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD), told Reuters by satellite telephone.

A military source in Chad said a plane appeared to be missing in action after it failed to return to the air base in Abeche after a sortie on Tuesday morning, but he could not give any further details.

Chadian Defence ministry officials could not be reached for immediate comment.

Foreign diplomats said they believed the plane shot down was one of two aircraft, thought to be Italian-made Marquetti fighters, which Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had made available to Chad's military in recent days to counter the rebel threat.

UFDD spokesman Ali Ahmat told Reuters the plane was shot down during fighting with government forces 40 km (25 miles) west of Abeche. He said a government helicopter had also been shot down, but that claim could not immediately be confirmed.

Abeche is the hub of a massive international aid effort to help more than 200,000 Sudanese refugees who have fled violence in neighbouring Sudan's Darfur region.

Civilians looted aid warehouses at the weekend and aid agencies are still working under tight security directives.

"The security situation outside Abeche remains uncertain, with reports of rebel presence as well as the Chadian military. Movements are also reportedly occurring north of Abeche in the Am Zoer area, on the road to Guereda," U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in briefing notes on Tuesday.

CAPTURED MISSILE

Nouri, a former defence minister who has turned against President Idriss Deby, said his men shot down the plane at around 6 a.m. (0500 GMT) with an anti-aircraft missile.

"It was a SAM-7 missile which we took from Abeche at the weekend," Nouri said.

He said the aircraft had been bombing UFDD positions in the region of Abeche, the main town in eastern Chad which the UFDD occupied for 24 hours on Saturday before government forces re-established control.

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Published on Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/11/30/2003338523

Chadian aircraft downed

SUDAN ACCUSED: A government official claimed that some refugees were working for the Sudanese and called for the camps near the border to be evacuated

AP, N'DJAMENA, CHAD
Thursday, Nov 30, 2006, Page 6

A Chadian military reconnaissance plane was shot down in the volatile east by rebels using a surface-to-air missile, officials said.

The plane was downed on Tuesday close to the Sudanese border, government spokesman Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor said at a news conference. He gave no other details.

Doumgor repeated Chad's accusations that Sudan backed the rebels, charges Sudan has denied.

"Today we are in state of war with forces from Sudan," he said.

The eastern border region with Sudan is used by insurgents to launch attacks on government forces.

"The state of emergency will be reinforced and the military put on the highest alert," Doumgor told journalists, calling on the UN and African Union to evacuate Sudanese refugees who are in camps near the border.

Doumgor, meanwhile, claimed some refugees were working for the Sudanese government to destabilize Chad.

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