By DPA
N’Djamena/Paris : Chadian President Indriss Deby said Wednesday in the capital N’Djamena that his government’s forces were now in total control of the country after a failed attempt to overthrow him.
In his first public appearance since rebel groups mounted an assault against his government, culminating in a pitched two-day battle in N’Djamena over the weekend, Deby told reporters his forces had “total control” not only over the city, but the entire country.
However, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Wednesday that the rebels appeared to be regrouping after having been driven out of N’Djamena.
He told Europe 1 radio that the rebels had assembled 100 to 200 military vehicles about 30 Km from the capital, but that their intent was not clear. “Will they attack again? Or will they withdraw, as we are hoping?” he asked.
In addition, RFI radio reported that another column of rebel vehicles appeared to be advancing on the capital from the east.
A spokesman for the rebels, Abderaman Koulamallah, said Wednesday that the rebels were still intent on pursuing their goals, and he warned France to keep out of the conflict.
“France risks losing face in Chad and endangering the lives of all of its nationals in Africa,” RFI quoted him as saying.
The comments were made as French Defence Minister Herve Morin paid a brief visit to N’Djamena Wednesday to hold talks with Deby and as a sign of French solidarity with his regime.
On Tuesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy had said that Paris would “do its duty” in case of an “aggression” against Chad.
Kouchner repeated that vow on Wednesday, telling Europe 1 that France could intervene because the United Nations Security Council had given Paris “not only the possibility but the obligation to help the legal government” in Chad.
There was still no estimate of how many people were killed in the two days of intense fighting in N’Djamena at the weekend, but RFI reported that the city’s morgue was “overflowing” and that the Chadian Red Cross was still removing bodies from the city’s streets.
In addition, medical workers interviewed by RFI said that conditions for treating the injured in hospital were deplorable, with a shortage of medicines and staff and often no electricity.