Chad is negotiating "at this moment" with rebels opposed to President Idriss Deby, Chad's foreign minister Ahmat Allam-Mi told reporters in Brussels on Thursday, according to Reuters. "We are negotiating at this moment with the rebels, we negotiate constantly with the rebels," he said after talks with senior European Union officials. There was no immediate reaction from rebel spokesmen. Deby and senior Chadian government officials have previously dismissed the idea of talks with the rebels, saying the army defeated a rebel assault on the capital N'Djamena earlier this month.
