UN condemns renewed fighting in eastern Chad

The U.N. Security Council on Friday condemned "renewed military excursions" by outside rebel fighters operating in eastern Chad, following the signing of a deal over the weekend to normalize relations between Chad and Sudan.

Council members said they deplored the actions of "Chadian armed groups coming from outside," according to statement by Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, this month's council president. He said the council also stressed that attempts to destabilize Chad by force were unacceptable.

The council demanded that all rebel armed groups put down their arms immediately, and all sides in the fighting restart peace talks.

Churkin's statement read aloud in the 15-nation council's chambers ended a day of open and closed-door discussions about the situation in eastern Chad.

Diplomats for Chad and Sudan swapped accusations that each other's governments are supporting rebel fighters aimed at destabilizing their nations. They also denied each other's accusations.

The latest reports of clashes follow the signing of a deal to normalize relations between Chad and Sudan over the weekend in Qatar. The countries restored diplomatic ties in November after a six-month rift over accusations of assisting each others' rebels.

Eastern Chad is temporary home to about 300,000 refugees who have fled Sudan's Darfur conflict. The region also has camps for 187,000 Chadians displaced by fighting locally and in Darfur.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this week urged Chad and Sudan to make peace while expressing concern about how the fighting could affect humanitarian aid in eastern Chad.

In Chad, the government said the army defeated a rebel column heading to the capital and was pursuing other fighters, but rebels denied it Friday. Chadian rebels have sought to overthrow President Idriss Deby for more than three years, after Chad became an oil producer in October 2003.

The anti-government Force for the Union of Resistance Forces is led by Deby's nephew Timane Erdimi, formerly in charge of oil affairs in the president's office before falling out with him.

In the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the African Union's Peace and Security Council also met Friday to discuss Chad.

Churkin said the council "reiterates its full support" for the U.N. mission in Chad and the Central African Republic.

In March, a 3,300-strong European Union peacekeeping force handed over to the United Nations responsibility for protecting and delivering aid to an estimated 500,000 people in eastern Chad.

The council had approved in January a U.N. peacekeeping force of 5,200 soldiers and 300 police to take that on.