By Alistair Thomson

N'DJAMENA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Flies swarm as a corpse in bloodied battle dress flops off a steel morgue stretcher into the bucket of a mechanical shovel.

Moments later the yellow machine hauls a dozen or so bodies high in the air before tipping them with a dull thud into a dumper truck to be taken to an anonymous grave, the grim toll of a weekend rebel attack on Chad's capital N'Djamena.

"Many people went out and got killed without their families even knowing," said fire fighter Amos Antcha, holding a mask to his face to cut out the penetrating stench of rotting flesh.

Antcha and his men have spent three days plucking dozens of bodies from streets and blast-damaged buildings in the city.

Nobody is quite sure how many people were killed during the battle.

Around 100 bodies have been registered at three hospitals in the city, Guilhem Molinie, head of mission for medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, told Reuters.

The toll of some 850 wounded soldiers and civilians already treated in hospital is expected to increase, he said.

"Now people are going out of their houses," he said. "There are three, four, five day old wounds -- not so easy to treat."

Despite initial rebel threats to return and attack President Idriss Deby's forces again, the prospect of more immediate fighting appeared to be receding.

Inside the General Hospital, 22-year-old soldier Daoud Soir was upbeat, despite having his leg broken by a bullet.

"We sent them back to the fields ... that's their last suicidal mission," he said.

GRISLY TASK

The grisly task of clearing the dead from the streets is nearly complete, but the job of tidying the wrecked vehicles and bomb-damaged and looted buildings is just beginning.

Blackened hulks of pick-up trucks and tree trunks snapped like matchwood by rocket propelled grenades litter the streets.

Some buildings were destroyed by explosions or fires, others stripped bare in a frenzy of looting that followed the battle.

Soldiers clamber over the upturned carcass of a military pick-up truck, unbolting any parts left undamaged.

Outside a police station, a truck unloads office desks, chairs and even a three-piece sitting room suite onto the pavement. Residents are loath to be caught by the security services with looted goods, for fear of punishment.

But amid the debris, families cooped up in their houses for days took advantage of the calm on Thursday to buy essentials and catch up with friends and relatives.

In the courtyard of a family home a stone's throw from the General Hospital morgue, Abdeldjabar Kengui sat sipping sweet mint tea with more than a dozen male relatives, exchanging experiences from the last few days.

"Living in Chad is truly difficult," he said. "What has happened here defies description." (Edited by Nick Tattersall and Philippa Fletcher)

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