Chad said its army has repelled rebels advancing southwards towards the country’s capital, N’Djamena, on Saturday.
The convoy was intercepted in the southwestern Kanem region on Saturday, army spokesman Colonel Azem Bermandoa said in a statement on state-run Office National de Radio et Television du Tchad. “The convoy was destroyed and a sweep is underway to capture the fugitives,” Bermandoa said in the statement.
A government spokesman said in a Twitter post the “Libyan mercenaries’ adventure” had come to an end.
The action comes as partial results from an April 11 election showed long-term President Idriss Deby maintains a strong early lead.
The Front for Change and Concord in Chad countered the government’s statement, saying the military had abandoned their camp leaving a large amount of weaponry behind. The Libya-based political-military group, which is made up of army dissidents, has been fighting to overthrow Deby since 2016. The rebels crossed into Chad on April 11, the government said in an earlier statement.
The rebels accuse Deby of suppressing the opposition ahead of the presidential election, in which the 68-year-old leader was excepted to extend his three-decades-long rule and tighten his grip on country.
The U.S., France and the U.K. said the rebels were advancing south on Saturday afternoon. A separate rebel convoy was spotted approaching the town of Mao, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of N’Djamena, the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said in a website statement urging its citizens to leave Chad.
The country has been a key contributor of troops in a multinational effort to defeat Islamist militants in West Africa’s Sahel region.
