Nairobi - Chadian rebel forces, which for days have been marching on Ndjamena, have entered the capital and are moving in the direction of the presidential palace, reports said Saturday. According to reports from the al-Jazeera broadcaster, the sound of battle could be heard near the presidential palace, while French media was reporting that around 2,000 rebel troops were in the city.
None of the 2,000-strong French force stationed in the former colony since 1986 have openly engaged in the fighting, al-Jazeera reported, adding that Chadian state television has ceased broadcasting and the mobile phone network has been shut down.
Previous reports had said that around 300 rebel vehicles were approaching the Chadian capital and that militiamen had been sighted in the capital's south and east.
The latest reports followed clashes Friday around the city of Massaguet, some 50 kilometres away, after which both sides claimed victory.
The head of one of the three main rebel groups, Timan Erdimi, was reported to have demanded that Chadian President Idriss Deby open negotiations on power-sharing or there would be a full-blown war.
The French government beefed up its military presence in N'Djamena Friday with a company of 150 soldiers from its garrison in Libreville, Gabon, to protect French nationals in the capital.
As a result of the fighting, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said Friday it had evacuated most of its staff from the area of Guereda in eastern Chad.
The UNHCR team in the area said it had experienced several attacks in 72 hours, with gunmen in military uniforms breaking into its compound and threatening the guards with guns.
Some 3,700 EUFOR soldiers are expected on the Chad-Sudan border, across which refugees from Sudan's conflict-torn western Darfur region continue to pour.
A EUFOR spokesman said the mission did not want to get involved in the country's internal affairs.
