Chad Update: Gov. wins the battle for N'Djamena

The government is in full control of the capital N'Djamena, after the army successfully thwarted rebel attacks. The president who remained in the presidential palace, and refused French offers to escape the country, spoke to the reporters, and as expected, lay blame wholly on Sudan. The two countries have been exchanging accusations of the supporting each others' rebels.

Haru Mutasa, Aljazeera English reporter, was one of the few journalists to stay in the N'Djamena throughout the rebel onslaught. Here's her latest report.

Chad update - Day 4 & 5

The government is in control of the capital N'Djamena for the moment. The rebels are saying they'll return. But the most development has been in the French position: it seems they've made their minds up in supporting president Idris Deby, though few days ago they seemed to be waiting to see who will win. The UN resolution calling on members of the Security Council to lend support to the Chadian president raised the prospect of French intervention. The French defense minister said that their helicopters have been monitoring the Chadian-Sudanese border to expose any foreign intervention.

Thousands of Chadians have crossed over to Cameron, and hundreds of civilians are reported dead or injured. You can watch the latest here.

Chad Update - Day 3: fighting resumes in N'Djamena

Fighting resumed in the capital N'Djamena for the third day. Earlier the government claimed to have pushed the rebels back (rebels say they've retreated from the capital to allow the civilians to leave). Aid workers say bodies litter the streets.

Chad Update - Day 2: rebels pull back from the capital city

Rebels pulled back from the city saying that they want to give foreigners time to leave the city before waging another assault but the government claims they've pushed back the rebels.

Chad Update 04:00pm (N'Djamena time)

Eyewitness reports that the rebels have been pushed back, the sound of gunfire has been moving away from the presidential palace, and the meridian hotel where many expats and Chadians are sheltering. There were also reports of French helicopters flying over the presidential palace, together with Chadian helicopters. The president earlier refused a French offer to take him out of the capital.

Update: BBC is reporting that French troops have take some of their combat planes out of the country, which explains the French helicopters seen flying over N'Djamena.

Chad Update 11:30 (N'Djamena time)

There are reports the French have offered the president to take him out of the country but he refused. He remains in the presidential palace. There is now fresh fighting in the capital despite a Libyan brokered ceasefire. There are also reports that governments are retreating, that's yet to be confirmed.

Chad: rebels storm the capital

The latest news from Chad confirms the rebels are in control of most of the capital and are surrounding the presidential palace. President, Idris Deby, is reported to be inside the palace, the rebels said earlier they will allow him to fly out of the country. Gunfire can be heard around the city, and so far there are no reports of civilian causalities.

There are about 1200 French troops in the city as well, so far not engaged in the fighting, they are protecting expats in different parts of the city including the Meridian hotel. Government officials, however, dispute these accounts and insist that their troops are in control. The airport, TV and radio have all been closed.

The rebels took off just five days ago from the East of the country, near the Sudanese borders. Chad and Sudan have been exchanging accusations that each is supporting the others' rebels. Chad supported and armed rebels in Darfur and so did Sudan with Chadian rebels. In 2006, the rebels reached the outskirts of the capital N'Djamena but they were pushed back with the help of the French troops. There is no doubt that Sudan will be delighted with a change of leadership in Chad.

It also seems that the EU, and particularly France, sees president Idris Deby as a liability; he has presided over fraudulent elections and changed the constitution so he can have a third term. His ongoing rivalry with the Sudanese government is also making the deployment of UN troops in Eastern Chad and Darfur much more difficult.

The African Union, already overloaded with the crisis in Kenya, Darfur and Somalia, has said that Chad will be suspended from the organization if president Deby is deposed and "until normalcy and democratic rule is restored in that country".

Aljazeera's Haru Mutasa is one of the few reporters in N'Djamena. Check out her latest report and Aljazeera exclusive pictures below:

A good question

On Behind the News program, in Aljazeera Arabic, a representative of Chadian rebels, who are now in control of most of the capital, was asked about French reaction to their advance. He said that France realizes that the Chadian society desires change and no longer wants president Deby ...., at which point the presenter interrupted to ask him: "Since when did France care about what societies want".

An excellent question.