By Stephanie Hancock
N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - A state of emergency declared in Chadwill do little to calm nerves among residents in the capitalN'Djamena, many of whom complain soldiers are already takingadvantage of a security crackdown to loot homes.
President Idriss Deby declared a state of emergency acrossthe former French colony late on Thursday for 15 days totighten security after a rebel attack on N'Djamena two weeksago.
The move gives the authorities powers to censor media,conduct searches and tightly regulate movement in the country.It also extends a midnight-to-dawn curfew across the nation.
The capital saw two days of street fighting during theFebruary 2-3 rebel assault in which more than 160 people werekilled. Life is slowly returning to normal.
But the streets are quiet. Residents are wary of talking tostrangers and many sit in doorways of their homes, nervouslywatching soldiers drive around on motorcycles.
"There are lots of searches going on and we don't knowwhat's official or not but people are taking advantage andracketeering," said a student in the Moursal neighbourhood ofthe city, who asked not to be named.
"They normally come in pairs. If you have a new motorbikethey order you to get off and give them the key. You have tofollow their orders because they're armed," he said.
Both the army and police have been searching houses lookingfor rebels or goods that were looted from state buildings.
Some residents talk of soldiers entering houses at will andstealing anything of value, including televisions or cash.
Others say there have been arbitrary arrests, targeting notjust those suspected of collaborating with the rebels but ofhaving cheered their arrival in the capital two weeks ago.
"ESCAPED PRISONERS"
Chad's police chief Idriss Dokony Adiker saidhouse-to-house searches could have been better conducted.
"We're receiving some complaints from the population, whoare saying that not everything is happening in a propermanner," Adiker told Reuters.
"It's difficult to know who is military and who isn't. Wehave more than a thousand escaped prisoners ... and there arelots of bandits pretending to be military operating at night."
Deby, a former French-trained helicopter pilot who has heldpower for 18 years, said he would appoint presidential missionsto monitor the implementation of the emergency measures.
After the lightning assault on N'Djamena by a convoy of3,000 rebel fighters, the insurgents have withdrawn to theeastern border region with Sudan's Darfur, blaming France'smilitary support for Deby for preventing his overthrow.
The French army has said it transported Libyan munitions toChad to supply the army's defence but has denied its soldiersfought to keep Deby in power.
On Tuesday, France demanded the immediate clarification ofthe whereabouts of Chadian opposition leaders.
Interior Minister Mahamat Ahmat Bachir was quoted by Frenchradio as saying one of the men, Lol Mahamat Choua, was beingdetained in a military barracks. Choua was abducted from hishome on February 3.
For the city's residents, including thousands who fled toCameroon, promises of tighter security do little to reassure.
"Eighteen years in power and nothing has changed," saidanother Moursal resident, bemoaning the fact that Deby and therebel leaders -- some of them his close relatives -- hadbrought the oil-producing country to its knees.
"It's a family war, a clan war ... the rest of us are justspectators," he said.
(Additional reporting by Moumine Ngarmbassa)
(Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Pascal Fletcher andElizabeth Piper; Reuters messaging:nicholas.tattersall.reuters.com@reuters.net, Dakar Newsroom+221 864 5076))
