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Chad rebels seek single leader
15/02/2008 18:57 - (SA)
N'Djamena - Chad was placed under a state of emergency on Friday, while rebels said they needed to pick a single leader to oust President Idriss Deby Itno after a foiled offensive.
Under a presidential decree issued on Thursday, a midnight to 06:00 curfew already in place in N'Djamena since the rebels stormed the capital at the start of the month has been widened to the whole central African country.
The decree authorised "house searches and controls on the private and public press", which has already seen a crackdown drawing protests from international right groups. So has the rounding up of key opposition figures.
A rebel alliance seized large parts of N'Djamena and surrounded Deby in the presidential palace on February 2-3, but government troops - given logistical and intelligence support by the French military - repulsed the rebels who have since withdrawn to the southeast.
French armed forces delivered fuel, food, aerial intelligence and Libyan ammunition to the Chadian army to help it repel the assault, French defence ministry spokesperson Laurent Teisseire acknowledged in Paris.
France has Mirage jet fighters and reconnaissance planes in its arid former colony, where it also boosted its permanent troop presence to 1 450 during the clashes to evacuate hundreds of foreign nationals from N'Djamena airport.
Defence Minister Herve Morin said that France did not "participate directly in combat" but told France 24 television that its troops "responded every time we felt that the control of the airport might be at risk".
Chad accuses Sudan of backing and arming the three rebel groups led by Mahamat Nouri, Timan Erdimi and Abdelwahid Aboud Makaye, who overcame their differences in December.
Rebel spokesperson Abderaman Koulamallah on Friday said by satellite phone that these forces were still inside Chad, but "we've decided no longer to go for N'Djamena until we have a single leadership".
Meanwhile one of three Chadian opposition leaders missing since after the fighting has been found alive, Interior Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bashir announced on Thursday night.
"We have just found Lol Mahamat Choua, who is alive. I cannot give you more details at the moment," Bashir said, but Lol's aides on Friday said he was being held by the police and "in a very weakened state".
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