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French jets fired on Central African Republic rebels
04 Dec 2006 18:39:22 GMT
Source: Reuters

PARIS, Dec 4 (Reuters) - French fighter jets opened fire on rebel positions in the Central African Republic on several occasions at the weekend and are providing daily support to government troops, the French defence ministry said on Monday.

French Mirage fighters "again intervened several times during the weekend" as part of a policy of daily and constant support for government forces, French military staff spokesman Christophe Prazuck said. The French military is also offering tactical advice to government forces, Prazuck said.

An offensive by government troops around the northeastern towns of Ouada and Ndele has met resistance from the forces of the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity, who have demanded that President Francois Bozize agree to power-sharing talks. France has around 300 troops in the Central African Republic under a 2003 military accord, and has six Mirage F1 jets based in the capital of neighbouring Chad providing air support.
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A Chad army soldier gestures at a battlefield in Hadjer Marfaine, a mountainous area close to the Sudanese border, December 14, 2006. Chad's army said on Friday it killed two rebel military chiefs as it swept their fighters back into neighbouring Sudan this week, but the insurgents denied this and said they remained on Chadian soil. The soldiers are wearing distinctive coloured ribbons, which they change daily to allow them to distinguish between each other and the enemy on the battlefield. Picture taken December 14, 2006.