Amid intense fighting in the Chadian capital N'Djamena, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner offered his country's help in helping embattled President Idriss Deby to leave, but stressed there would be no French military involvement in the conflict, according to dpa. As of Sunday, the French military had evacuated 514 foreigners from N'Djamena to Gabon as the fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Deby intensified. The evacuees included 217 French nationals and 297 people of other nationalities, French media reports said. Another 400 people were awaiting at gathering points for their evacuation. In remarks to the Journal du Dimanche weekly, Kouchner offered French help in the evacuation of Deby himself. But the "French forces are not participating in the fighting between the Chadians, some of whom are from the Idriss Deby family," he told the paper. Such involvement of French forces is not provided for in the military agreement with Chad.
