BRUSSELS, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The European Union's planned military mission to Chad is on hold after rebels pushed into the capital N'djamena, but the 27-nation bloc still intends to deploy it, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Monday.

The EU had planned to start to deploy the 3,700-strong mission last Friday to protect civilians in eastern Chad from a spillover of violence from the Darfur region in neighbouring Sudan.

But it suspended the move after a column of rebels stormed the capital in an attempt to overthrow President Idriss Deby.

"Of course we are not going to continue deployment ... we stopped it in the last few days in order to see how the situation evolves on the ground," Solana told reporters.

"The situation is still not clear ... but we continue to maintain the operation alive."

Thousands of civilians fled Chad's capital on Monday after rebel forces pulled back from the city following two days of street fighting.

"These events prove the need for an operation of the nature we have decided, not only for Chad but also for the relation between Chad and Sudan," Solana said. (Reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by William Schomberg)

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