Top > World > 2005 > December > 2005-12-27

More Fighting in Chad

Government forces in Chad clashed with army deserters in an eastern border town, killing about 300 militants in the biggest recent offensive against rebels, officials said. Chad is only one of many African countries stuck in the grip of internecine violence at one time or another throughout the country.

Five soldiers and three civilians also died in Sunday`s raid to retake control of Adre, 620 miles east of the capital of N`djamena, the army said in a statement. The claim of rebel deaths could not be independently verified, though both sides have been known to embellish casualties from time to time.

If true, the death toll would be the largest in recent fighting between government forces and military deserters reportedly seeking to overthrow President Idriss Deby. Scores of soldiers deserted several military camps in October and have since regrouped in eastern Chad, near the border with Sudan`s volatile western region of Darfur.