Chadian rebels seized the country’s capital on Saturday after intense fighting with government forces, while President Idriss Deby Itno remained holed up in the presidential palace, a military source said. “The whole of the city is in the hands of the rebels. It’s down to mopping-up operations,” according to the military source. France sent an extra 150 troops to the central African country and prepared to evacuate its citizens, while French Defence Minister Herve Morin said rebels were battling government forces as they closed in on the presidential palace.Despite the reports, Chad’s foreign minister told AFP that Deby was at the presidency and the situation was under control in the city. “I spoke with the presidency 10 minutes ago and they assured me that the situation (was under) control,” Amad Allam-Mi said in Addis Ababa, where he was attending an African Union summit, shortly before 1030 GMT.
Heavy fighting between some 2,000 rebels opposed to Deby and government forces had raged in the capital on Saturday, a French army source said. The rebels had entered the capital in trucks armed with machine guns, rocket launchers and Kalashnikov assault rifles.