Helicopters fired rockets at rebel positions around the capital of Chad today as government troops attempted to hold off a rebel attack.
The sounds of tank and mortar rounds could be heard coming from the north, south and south-east of N'djamena, which has a river as its western border.
The fighting began before dawn when residents of eastern neighbourhoods awoke to heavy gunfire, sending panic through the city a day after reports that rebels were closing in on the capital.
Government officials were not reachable, and the state-run radio played music without any commentary or reports on the situation in the country.
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AP