GOZ-BEIDA -Rebel forces in Chad said yesterday that they shot down a government helicopter in a fresh offensive from the east aimed at overthrowing President Idriss Deby.
But they offered to call off the advance if France and the European Union, which have supported Deby's rule over the landlocked oil producer, pressed him into holding all-inclusive peace talks.
There was no immediate reaction from the Chadian government nor any clear independent confirmation of the rebels' statement that their columns had pushed westwards "deep inside" the eastern Dar Sila region of Chad.
However, Irish troops stationed in east Chad as part of an EU protection force (EUFOR) for UN-run refugee camps said they had received reports of combat at Modeina near the Sudan border between rebel ground forces and Chadian government aircraft.
A spokesman for the Irish troops said two Chadian helicopters were hit by ground fire from rebel anti-aircraft guns. One crash-landed, while the other landed safely.
Abderaman Koulamallah of the rebel National Alliance told Reuters four rebel columns had moved westwards, hoping to topple Deby after a February attack on the capital N'Djamena failed.
"We plan to carry the war to the interior of the country," said Koulamallah, whose Democratic Union for Change (UDC) group belongs to the insurgent alliance.
Koulamallah said the rebels were prepared to call off their offensive if France and the European Union forced Deby to agree to round table talks on Chad's political situation and future.
Commandant Stephen Morgan, spokesman for the Irish 97th Infantry Battalion based at Goz-Beida in eastern Chad, said the reported clash took place 70km (43 miles) northeast of the Irish base, so they had no details of casualties.
But he added: "I can confirm that a Chadian helicopter has been taken down just outside Abeche near the airfield in what appears to be a controlled crash-landing due to damage sustained from ground fire from 23-millimetre anti-aircraft weapons. There were two aircraft that sustained damage, but the second one managed to land."