(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-02-02 22:06

He said he also watched looters go into a police station opposite the hotel, stealing chairs and throwing papers on the ground.

Rebel forces have been advancing on the capital for three days in about 250 pickup trucks after crossing the border from Sudan, some 510 miles to the east of N'Djamena.

Clashes broke out Friday morning near Massakori, northeast of N'Djamena, and moved closer to the capital to Massaguet, said Burkhard, the French military spokesman. France-Info radio said helicopters bombarded rebel positions.

Chad, a French colony until 1960, has been convulsed by civil wars and invasions since independence, and the recent discovery of oil has only increased the intensity of the struggle for power in the largely desert country.

The most recent series of rebellions began in 2005 in the country's east, occurring at the same time as the conflict in neighboring Sudan's western region of Darfur saw a rise in violence. One Chadian rebel group launched a failed assault on N'Djamena, in April 2006.

The governments of Chad and Sudan repeatedly exchange accusations the one is backing the other's rebel groups.

U.N. officials estimate that around 3 million people have been uprooted by conflicts in the region, including the fighting in western Sudan's Darfur region and rebellions in Central African Republic.

France sent more troops late Thursday to boost a longtime military presence in Chad. About 1,500 French citizens live in Chad, most in N'Djamena. French President Nicolas Sarkozy called a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris late Friday to discuss the situation in Chad, his office said.

Air France canceled its scheduled daily flight to N'Djamena on Friday because its personnel there "had no access to the airport," an airline spokesman said. The spokesman said it was not clear why access to the airport was blocked.

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