France denies report special forces fought in Chad

France's La Croix daily, citing diplomats and militarysources, said members of the special operations command (COS)helped to drive back rebels in fighting around the capitalN'Djamena.

"No special force or French soldier took part in fightingbetween government forces and rebel forces," said GeneralChristian Baptiste, a Defence Ministry spokesman.

The newspaper said French soldiers also opened fire onrebels approaching the airport during an evacuation offoreigners.

"They did carry out protection operations for Frenchcitizens but also from the international community. They had toextract from the fighting zone a certain number of citizens anddiplomats from the international community and they helpedthose who wanted to leave Chad by military plane," Baptistesaid.

Chadian President Idriss Deby, speaking on French radio onThursday, said he had never lost control of his country andFrance had not directly intervened in the fighting.

He has called on the European Union to deploy apeacekeeping force urgently in eastern Chad after the rebelassault.

The rebels say they have been bombed by warplanes belongingto France, the former colonial power which has more than 1,000troops stationed in the central African oil producer.

Relations between the two countries were strained inOctober when Chad arrested six French aid workers for trying tokidnap 103 local children, who they were attempting to take toEurope for fostering without permission from the authorities.

The aid workers were jailed in Chad but transferred toFrance to serve most of their 8-year sentences in Frenchprisons.

In a sign that relations have improved since FrenchPresident Nicolas Sarkozy threw his support behind Deby, theChadian president said this week he would be prepared to pardonthe aid workers if France requested it.

France has said each of the six has asked for a pardon.Junior foreign minister Rama Yade said the ministry would passon these requests to Chad on Friday.

RTL radio said that five of the workers were likely to bereleased but the group's leader, Eric Breteau, might have tostay in jail but serve a reduced sentence.

"Maybe it's not final, maybe Sarkozy can help Deby tochange his mind," Breteau's mother Helene told RTL. "I'm stillhoping."

(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Writing by Anna Willard,editing by Tim Pearce)