Peace-keepers flee fighting

Press, 1 April 1980, Page 8

Peace-keepers flee fighting

NZPA-Reuter. N’Djamena, Chad About 500 .Congolese peace-keeping troops have been evacuated from the Chad capital, N’Djamena, after coming under heavy artillery fire from one of the rival armies seeking power in Chad, Western sources have said.

French Embassy employees in the capital took refuge at an ' airbase on the western outskirts of the city yesterday ..after nine days of fighting in which at least 1000 people have been killed. The Western sources said the French and Congolese evacuations appeared to be proof that the fighting between the .two warring factions of President Goukouni Oueddei and the Defence Minister (Mr Hissene Habre) was now raging out of control.

The Congolese troops were in Chad as the advance guard of a neutral panAfricah peace-keeping force which never went into operation. The force was also to have included troops from Benin and Guinea. French sources said the Congolese had been equipped with about 5 tonnes of ammunition and large quantities of sophisticated arms and it was not known whether they took the supplies with them before being

by heavj' transport planes to neighbouring Cameroun. • The fighting stopped briefly at the week-end when the President and the Defence Minister agreedto their fourth cease-fire in -as] many days , but it broke! down almost immediately. i At least 1000 people had been killed and 1500! wounded in nine days of fighting, French diplomats said. French intelligence sources said small army columns had been spotted coming down.across the Libyan border in the north. Libya is backing President Oeuddei The sources said it was unclear whether this was direct intervention by the Libyan Government to reinforce the President or support from another Libyanbased Chadian leader, Ahmat Acyl. They said Mr Habre’s forces at the week-end held off an attack by another rival faction trying to force its way into the city and set 'up a second front on the eastern side.

They said that the southern leader, Abdelkader Wadal Kamougue, was stopped from making ff river crossing and his troops were still encamped to the south, where they have been shelling the city for the past nine days. .