Chad's president and the leader of a rebel faction that tried to oust him earlier this year signed a peace accord in Libya late on Sunday (24 December 2006), but other Chadian insurgents dismissed the deal and vowed to fight on. Several rebel groups bent on overthrowing President Idriss Deby have been fighting a low-intensity war in the desert, mountains and scrub of eastern Chad, occasionally striking further west.

Up to 40 people have been killed in clashes between Chad's government security forces and men who attacked two villages in the east of the country, a government official said. Moussa Doumgor Hourmadji, the communications minister, said the attacks had been carried out by the Janjawid - Arab fighters who operate from Sudan's Darfur region.

Journalists in Chad have begun a strike to protest state censorship under a six-month state of emergency imposed by the government of Idriss Deby, the president. Six private newspapers will not publish over the next two weeks, while several private radio stations will observe a three-day period of "silence".

Rebels in Chad have attacked government positions at Guereda, in the far east of the country close to the border with Sudan. Fighting began early in the afternoon when a rebel coalition including the Rally of Democratic Forces [RAFD] and three other groups attacked soldiers in the area, a military source said on Friday (1 December 2006).

Several hundred people were killed and at least 10,000 displaced in recent militia attacks on approximately 60 Chadian villages, primarily in and around Kerfi, Koloy and Bandikao, in October and November. Many of the attacks were carried out by Chadian Arab militia against non-Arab communities.