NDJAMENA (AFP) — Chad's government controlled the capital and its immediate surroundings, the French ambassador to Chad said Tuesday, as France said it was ready to intervene militarily if need be.
"Today, the city of Ndjamena is under (government) control, at least within a 10-kilometre (six-mile) radius," French ambassador Bruno Foucher told reporters in Ndjamena.
Chadian president Idriss Deby Itno had appeared "very confident" when they had last spoken Monday night, he added.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday that France, with 1,450 troops and Mirage fighter jets stationed in Chad, was ready to "do its duty" and intervene if need be.
France has 1,450 troops based in Chad and Paris sent an extra 150 troops to help evacuate foreign nationals.
"Now there is a legal decision taken unanimously by the Security Council, and if Chad was the victim of an aggression, France could in theory have the means to oppose such action," he said in the French coastal town of Aytre.
"Everyone needs to think carefully about this."
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
France Readies Chad Troops
The AFP reports that President Sarkozy declared France will "do its duty" in the troubled Francophone African republic...
