Chad leader slams EU force for not halting rebels

N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chadian President Idriss Deby accuseda European Union military force in the east of his country onMonday of "closing its eyes" to attacks by rebels who havecaptured several towns in a fast-moving advance.

Deby's sharp criticism of the European force (EUFOR), whichhas a United Nations mandate to protect nearly half a millioncivilian refugees in Chad, followed a statement from the rebelssaying they had seized the eastern town of Biltine.

It was the third town to be attacked in three days by theinsurgents, whose columns of armed pick-up trucks have pushedwestwards from the border with Sudan into eastern Chad, whereEUFOR troops are protecting a string of refugee camps.

Deby has long accused eastern neighbour Sudan of backinghis rebel foes. Sudan denies this, but has accused Chad ofsupporting Sudanese rebels who attacked Khartoum last month.

In a broadcast to the nation, the Chadian leader said hisgovernment had requested protection from the internationalcommunity and had been happy to receive the EU militarycontingent when it deployed earlier this year.

"But we've been surprised to see that, in its first hostiletest, this force has rather cooperated with the invaders,allowing humanitarian workers' vehicles to be stolen and theirfood and fuel stocks burned and closing its eyes before thesystematic massacre of civilians and refugees," he said.

"We have the right to ask ourselves about the effectivenessof this force, of the usefulness of its presence in Chad".

A EUFOR spokesman in Paris said he had no comment on Deby'scriticism. There has been only limited confirmation fromindependent sources of the scale of the rebel attacks or theidentity or number of casualties.

EUFOR's commanders have always said the more than 3,000European troops would only protect civilians and would not getinvolved in the conflict between Deby and his armed opponents.

Deby said the rebels were "criss-crossing the easternbush," adding that "their motorised columns avoid militarycamps so as to attack only isolated locations without militarygarrisons."

He denounced what he called an "international plot" toplunge his country back into civil war, but did not elaborate.

U.N. AGENCY SUSPENDS ACTIVITIES

In February, former colonial ruler France strongly backedthe Chadian president when he survived an earlier rebel assaulton the capital N'Djamena in the west. Deby has ruled Chad, aminor oil producer, since seizing power in a 1990 revolt.

During a weekend visit to Ivory Coast, French ForeignMinister Bernard Kouchner said France "has not intervened andwill not intervene" in the latest fighting in Chad.

France has warplanes and troops in Chad under a cooperationaccord and French soldiers make up more than half of EUFOR.

After the rebels' statement that they had captured Biltine,just over 90 km (55 miles) north of east Chad's main city ofAbeche, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said it was halting allits activities at refugee camps in the east.

Security sources in Abeche, who asked not to be identified,said rebel fighters had been seen in Biltine. They brieflyseized two other eastern towns at the weekend but left themquickly, part of a hit-and-run strategy.

"As of Monday afternoon, UNHCR had to suspend allactivities in its 12 refugee camps in the east due to therapidly deteriorating security situation," Annette Rehrl,UNHCR's spokeswoman in eastern Chad, told Reuters.

The camps house around 250,000 Sudanese refugees who fledthe conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region. UNHCR'ssuspension of activities would also limit the help it couldgive some 180,000 displaced Chadians sheltering at sites in theeast.

The 15-nation U.N. Security Council condemned the rebeloffensive. In a unanimous policy statement, it demanded armedgroups "cease violence immediately," and called on states inthe region to cooperate to end the groups' activities.

N'Djamena was calm on Monday, but the U.S. embassy sentnon-essential staff and family members over the southern borderto Cameroon. Government offices, markets and banks stayed open.

(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say onthe top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/)

(Additional reporting by Finbarr O'Reilly in Abeche,Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations and Pascal Fletcher inDakar; Writing by Pascal Fletcher, editing by Tim Pearce)