CHAD’s army said on Monday it had beaten back a column of insurgents, claiming to have halted a rebel advance towards the capital N’Djamena as the country awaits the final results of a presidential election last week.
The rebel group Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), based in Chad’s northern neighbour Libya, has made inroads south since it attacked a border post on election day and called for an end to President Idriss Deby’s 30-year rule.
Military spokesman Azem Bermendao Agouna told Reuters army troops had killed more than 300 insurgents and captured 150 in the battle which took place on Saturday in the Kanem province, around 300 km from N’Djamena. Five government soldiers were killed and 36 were injured, he said.
Reuters was not able to independently verify details of the fighting or the tallies of casualties. The insurgents could not immediately be reached.
Chad’s election
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