Chad rebels plan offensive within days, leader says

EL-GENEINA, Sudan, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The leader of a Chadian rebel group said on Thursday it planned to launch a decisive offensive within days to try to oust President Idriss Deby.

Mohamed Nour, president of the recently formed Rally for Democracy and Liberty (RDL), also told Reuters in a telephone interview that an attack by his forces on a Chadian border town last Sunday was a purely tactical move.

"We only used less then one sixth of our troops in that attack," he said in his first interview since the fighting over the town of Adre on Chad's eastern border with Sudan.

Chad's government says it is firmly in control of Adre after repelling two attacks. Deby has dismissed the army deserters and rebels who oppose him as "adventurers".

Nour said a major rebel attack would happen in the near future, "probably in the coming few days", but declined to say where they planned to strike.

"It could even be on N'Djamena," Nour said, referring to the Chadian capital.

The fighting over Adre has raised tensions in the neighbouring region of Darfur where Sudanese rebels have fought Sudan's central government for almost three years.

The Chadian government says its army pursued the RDL forces over the border into Sudan and destroyed their bases there. It accused Sudan of supporting the attackers and said around 300 of them were killed.

The rebels said they had only lost nine men and that two others were missing, adding that more than 70 government troops were killed in the battle.

The United States said rebel groups in Chad could launch fresh attacks and warned American citizens about the dangers of travelling to the area. Britain gave a similar warning.

DARFUR BASES

Nour, 35, said RDL was formed four months ago and had bases in Darfur. He is from the Tama tribe, which spans both sides of the border, and took part in the rebellion which ousted Hissene Habre as president and brought Deby to power in 1990.

But he said Deby had become corrupt and worse than Habre while in power, so he decided to move into armed opposition. "Then I came to Darfur and set up military camps."

Deby, a former army chief, has been credited with bringing a measure of stability to Africa's newest oil producer, although he has long had a tense relationship with the military.

Scores of Chadian soldiers deserted their barracks in late September before regrouping near the border and joining up with other rebels to attack the government.

Nour said they had joined his forces and still more Chadian soldiers were deserting. "Even yesterday more troops were joining us," he said.

He also said the Chadian army had amassed at least 800-900 troops in the eastern desert region near Adre.

Sudan denies backing the Chadian rebels but witnesses in the Sudanese town of el-Geneina, about 30 km from the border, said fighters from the Adre attack were in its hospital.

Nour said RDL had allies within political parties and armed opposition groups inside Chad. The armed Platform for Change, National Unity and Democracy have said they are allied to RDL.

"We are not just working militarily -- we have also support from political parties and civil society groups," he said.

Nour said RDL wanted to organise free elections after a two-year interim period but that he would not stand for office.

"I don't even want power after that," he said.

The international community is showing growing concern about the fighting in eastern Chad and Darfur, where mainly non-Arab rebels launched an uprising in early 2003 accusing Sudan's government of monopolising wealth and power.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 2 million forced from their homes during the violence in Darfur.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned that the region may be descending into anarchy.