French warplanes have carried out fresh attacks in Chad on what the military says is a heavily armed convoy that arrived from Libya and could be attempting to topple the government. The French military, acting at the request of the Chadian army, says it is trying to prevent the destabilisation the country but civil society denounce these strikes as illegitimate.
France says its fighter jets have destroyed 20 out of 50 pickup trucks. French planes also struck a convey in Chad over the weekend. France has provided military support before to President Idriss Déby who has faced several rebellions since seizing power in a coup in 1990.
But this is believed to be the first time they are conducting strikes. A rebel Chadian coalition called the Union of Forces of Resistance says it is behind the incursion. They are one of several Chadian rebel groups based in southern Libya that have vowed to overthrow President Idriss Déby.
