Published: February 03, 2008 10:41 AMNDJAMENA (AFP)--The main market in Ndjamena and the national radio station were destroyed Sunday by fires and looting, witnesses told AFP, as fighting raged between rebels and government forces in Chad's capital. One witness said: "The public market was partly set on fire in the morning after a helicopter (belonging to government forces) fired a rocket at rebels."
Additional coverage at Smart Money:
http://www.smartmoney.com/news/on/index.cfm?story=ON-20080203-000172-1041
NDJAMENA (AFP) - Fierce fighting with tanks and helicopter strikes rocked the Chad capital for a second day Sunday as rebels surrounded President Idriss Deby in his palace and hundreds of foreigners fled the country.
With international aid organisations reporting bodies in the streets and hundreds of people wounded, anti-tank and automatic weapons fire was heard around the presidential palace, where Deby has been holed up since Friday.
Extended coverage via AFP:
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/080203155352.93iwfts4.html
NDJAMENA (AFP) - Fierce fighting with tanks and helicopter strikes rocked the Chad capital for a second day Sunday as rebels surrounded President Idriss Deby in his palace and hundreds of foreigners fled the country.
With international aid organisations reporting bodies in the streets and hundreds of people wounded, anti-tank and automatic weapons fire was heard around the presidential palace, where Deby has been holed up since Friday.
Extended coverage via AFP:
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/080203155352.93iwfts4.html
Chad state radio put out of action by looters
Chad state radio went off the air on Saturday as rebels advanced into the capital, opposition leader Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh said. He made the claims in a telephone call from the central African nation’s embattled capital, N’Djamena. Saleh said rebels had entered the city and shooting that had erupted in the morning appeared to have died down. He said there were no soldiers in his neighbourhood and the state broadcaster had gone off the air in the morning.
(Source: Press Association)
Update 1645 UTC Sunday 3 February: More fighting is reported in N’Djamena. AFP reported this morning that government helicopters had attacked a column of rebels in the south of the city heading towards the main radio station. No broadcasts were monitored yesterday evening on 4905 kHz, which had been putting strong signals into Europe in recent days (see attached comment from Dr Derek Lynch).
On Sunday afternoon, the AFP news agency reported that the radio station had been “destroyed today by fires and looting.” Witnesses said the radio station had been pillaged by a mob that smashed broadcasting equipment and made off with computers. That suggests it was put out of action rather than totally destroyed.
(Source: Press Association)
Update 1645 UTC Sunday 3 February: More fighting is reported in N’Djamena. AFP reported this morning that government helicopters had attacked a column of rebels in the south of the city heading towards the main radio station. No broadcasts were monitored yesterday evening on 4905 kHz, which had been putting strong signals into Europe in recent days (see attached comment from Dr Derek Lynch).
On Sunday afternoon, the AFP news agency reported that the radio station had been “destroyed today by fires and looting.” Witnesses said the radio station had been pillaged by a mob that smashed broadcasting equipment and made off with computers. That suggests it was put out of action rather than totally destroyed.
(Source: R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)
You Tube Videos of fighting in Chad
In the absence of TV reports from Chad, I came across some videos posted on YouTube by members of Stop Genocide Now, who were at a hotel in N’Djamena, Chad, as the rebel forces entered the city. The group have now been evacuated. These are very high quality videos.
Fightiing in N'Djamena Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
(Source: You Tube/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)