Official says Chad's army kills 161 rebels

Chad's army has killed 161 rebels in a battle in the eastern part of the African country, a military official said Wednesday.

Army spokesman Col. Mahamat Hassan Abakar said four soldiers were killed and 52 others were wounded in the fighting Tuesday in the town of Am Zoer, 470 miles (760 kilometers) northeast of the capital, N'Djamena.

The army captured 23 prisoners and 61 pickup trucks, he said, adding that the main rebel column in eastern Chad is now "totally destroyed."

On Tuesday, Communications Minister Mahamat Hissene claimed Sudanese troops backed by two army helicopters helped Chadian rebels in an attack on an army post in Bakout, about 470 miles east of N'Djamena.

Sudan has denied the allegations, which could not be verified independently.

The United Nations and the African Union have condemned the past week's rebel attacks.

The U.N. refugee agency has said that the security situation in eastern Chad is deteriorating, but it is maintaining its presence in all 12 refugee camps in eastern Chad.

There are about 300,000 Sudanese refugees and 187,000 Chadians uprooted by conflict in eastern Chad and neighboring Sudan's Darfur region.

In February, Chadian rebels reached the edge of the presidential palace in N'Djamena after driving for days on back routes all the way from eastern Chad. The army later repelled them from the capital and they returned to the eastern border.

The Red Cross said that more than 160 people were killed and 1,000 wounded in the fighting in February.

Last month, Sudan broke diplomatic relations with Chad, accusing its neighbor of backing an attack near Khartoum by the Darfur-based Justice and Equality Movement rebel group. Chad, in turn, closed its border with Sudan and halted bilateral trade.