Chad: Rebels withdraw from N’djamena


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Chadian rebels who surrounded the presidency in N’Djamena on Sunday in a bid to oust President Idriss Deby have withdrawn completely following helicopter raids by the Chadian army.

Chadian rebels who surrounded the presidency in N’Djamena on Sunday in a bid to oust President Idriss Deby have withdrawn completely following helicopter raids by the Chadian army.

European military experts said in Brussels on Monday that it would be difficult for the rebels to reposition themselves in the capital because their supply base for food, fuel and particularly ammunitions was about 800 km away. They said the Battle of N’Djamena was ending in favour of President Deby Itno.

Deby’s Strategy?

When the rebels launched their latest offensive, President Deby said he would allow them to enter N’Djamena before government troops would attack them. His strategy has worked because the rebels could not capture the seat of power.

The Commander of European peacekeepers in the region, EUFOR, General Jean-Philippe Ganascia says the deployment of the peacekeepers can resume on Wednesday since the rebels have withdrawn from N’Djamena. EUFOR troops will be deployed in Chad where they will protect Sudanese refugees and displaced Chadians in the eastern part of the country. They will be based in six camps – N’Djamena, Abeche, Goz Beida, Iriba and Farchana and Birao in Central African Republic.

Meanwhile, the Belgium ministry of foreign affairs says it has submitted the names of 50 Belgians in Chad, most of who work for NGOs, international institutions and the private sector, to the French ministry of foreign affairs responsible for the evacuation of foreigners for assistance.

A French official statement has confirmed that five Belgians evacuated from N’Djamena arrived in Paris on Sunday night. An undisclosed number of Belgians left N’Djamena on Sunday by road to neighbouring Cameroon.

Blames

Earlier on, Chadian Interior minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir in a radio broadcast had said that N’djamena was “under control and the Sudanese backed rebel forces have been scattered”. Foreign minister, Amad Allam-Mi, said in a parallel radio interview that the fight for Ndjamena is over and also hurled accusations at the Sudanese for supporting the rebellion. He also threatened a retaliation on Sudan saying that they will go to Sudan if there is the need for Chad’s “security and intergrity.” The Minister for Mines and Energy Genaral Mahamat Ali Abdallah Nassour called the rebellion a Sudanese “declaration of war.”

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