By
Mahamat Ramadane, N'DJAMENA Chad
Chad's army battled with rebels on Thursday near the town of Nokou, about 20 km (12 miles) from where former president Idriss Deby was fatally wounded 10 days ago, rebels and the army said.
Deby was killed on April 19 as he visited troops fighting
Libya-based rebels from the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), which
opposed his 30-year rule. A military council headed by his son took control of
Chad after his death, a move which opposition politicians have condemned as a
coup.
The military council has said they intend to hold elections
within 18 months.
The rebels issued a statement on Thursday saying they had taken
control of Nokou, centre of the north Kanem district and located some 300 km
from the capital N'Djamena, after destroying an army attack helicopter that had
bombed their position.
A "technical failure" caused the MI-24 helicopter to
crash, far from the battlefield, a spokesman for Chad's ruling military
council, Azem Bermandoa Agouna, said in a statement.
Nokou remained under the control of government forces, he told
Reuters separately, confirming that rebel positions had been shelled.
Earlier this week Chad's capital and its second-largest city
Moundou experienced violent protests. At least six people were killed in
clashes between security forces and demonstrators protesting against the
military takeover.
Police spokesman Paul Manga said people in "unmarked
vehicles with smoked windows fired live ammunition at demonstrators"
during Tuesday's protests, causing injuries and loss of life. No security
officers fired live rounds at demonstrators, he said.
More than 650 people who were arrested during the protests were
formally arraigned at the N'Djamena courthouse on Thursday, a magistrate at the
court of appeals told Reuters.
Meanwhile efforts to find a political solution to the crisis are
underway. Representatives of the African Union arrived in Chad on Thursday for
a seven-day fact-finding mission to support an investigation into the
circumstances of Deby's killing.
The team will also "examine strategies to facilitate a
rapid return to constitutional order and democratic governance, while
preserving Chad's security and territorial integrity," the African Union
said in a statement.
Albert Pahimi Padacke, who the military council appointed prime
minister of a transitional government, met with the French and U.S. ambassadors
on Wednesday to discuss efforts to form a unity government and a potential
timeline for holding elections.
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