(Adds statement to Security Council, Air France cancels flight)

By Moumine Ngarmbassa

N'DJAMENA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Chad's army fought to drive off rebels who pushed to within 100 km (60 miles) of the capital N'Djamena on Friday in clashes which delayed the deployment of European peacekeepers to the African country.

In contradictory versions of the fighting, Chad's interior minister said the Sudan-backed rebels had been defeated and put to flight, while the insurgents said they were still driving towards N'Djamena after destroying dozens of army vehicles.

Chad has told the U.N. Security Council it was prepared to carry out hot pursuit of Sudan-backed rebels back into Sudanese territory, according to a letter made available on Friday.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was visiting Kenya on Friday, said in a statement he was deeply concerned by the resumed fighting in Chad and expressed his "condemnation of the use of military means to seize power."

The rebels appeared to be seeking a quick military victory before the EU troop deployment. They have previously threatened to attack the European force if it interferes in their campaign against President Idriss Deby. EU commanders have pledged not to take sides.

France's military, which has Mirage jets and around 1,000 soldiers stationed in Chad under a bilateral defence treaty, said the clashes took place between Massaguet and Massakory, around 100 km northeast of the capital.

"The column of mercenaries in the pay of Sudan ... has been completely put to flight ... the battle is over, it's finished, we're in pursuit," Chadian Territorial Administration (Interior) Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir told Radio France International.

A spokesman for the rebels, Abderamane Koulamallah, gave a different version to RFI, saying it was the government side which had pulled back to Massaguet.

No independent confirmation of the outcome of Friday morning's fighting, which was reported to be fierce and involve exchanges of heavy weapons fire, was immediately available.

EU TROOPS DELAYED

Up to 3,700 European Union troops were due to arrive in coming weeks on an urgent peacekeeping mission to eastern Chad to protect civilians and aid workers caught up in the violence in the neighbouring Sudanese region of Darfur.

An EU spokesman said the "increased instability" meant the deployment of the first European troops was being delayed.

"At the moment we don't want to blow this out of proportion, but yes, a flight of Irish troops yesterday and two flights today have been postponed," the spokesman said in Paris.

Irish Lieutenant-General Patrick Nash heads the EU force. Ireland's defence minister Willie O'Dea told public broadcaster RTE: "I see this is as an interruption rather than a cancellation of the deployment."

Air France cancelled Friday's flight to Chad, and a United Nations security official told the radio station non-essential U.N. staff in Chad would be evacuated to neighbouring Cameroon.

Earlier, France said it was flying 150 troops in from Gabon to reinforce its Chad contingent. The French military says it gives logistics, medical and intelligence support to Deby's army, but does not engage in direct combat.

A rebel leader, Timane Erdimi, called on President Deby to negotiate an immediate power-sharing deal or face an attack on N'Djamena by the rebels, who had raced in a column of 300 vehicles from the eastern border with Darfur.

"It's up to Mr Deby to choose between peace or war," he said. (Additional reporting by Francois Murphy in Paris, Ingrid Melander and Darren Ennis in Brussels, Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations and Jonathan Saul in Dublin; writing by Pascal Fletcher; editing by Keith Weir)

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