At this moment, the anti-government rebels in Chad have declared war against the French army and other foreign military forces on the national territory. The rebels accuse French military planes of passing intelligence to Chad’s central government. Asides from France, Austria had stated that their mission will not be stopped by the rebels.
The main rebel group is known as the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD.) The group claims to have evidence accusing the French of using surveillance aircraft flying over their positions and passing it to the Chad government. UFDD adds that they will consider all members of the peacekeeping forces as they won’t be able to tell the difference between French and other European troops.
Despite the declaration of war by the UFDD, Sarkozy said that his 3,500-strong force would be deployed to Chad anyway.