NAIROBI, Kenya — Thousands of frightened Chadians took advantage of a lull in fighting Monday to flee the capital, N’Djamena, when rebels withdrew from the capital after two days of heavy clashes with government troops.
Officials, however, warned that battles probably were not over and rebel leaders vowed to attack again.
Humanitarian officials estimated at least 500 civilians have been wounded during the past two days of fighting, most of them caught in the crossfire.
More than 1,000 rebels penetrated the capital Saturday, facing off against government troops. It was Chad’s third coup attempt in three years.
The United States has abandoned its embassy in Chad, evacuating all but four diplomats who are now stationed at the N’Djamena airport, and the State Department on Monday warned the rebels not to enter the compound.
Aruba: Secret film considered
A hidden-camera interview with a Dutch student saying missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway was dead and that he had a friend dump her body at sea is admissible in court, the chief Aruban prosecutor said Monday. The courts in Aruba will likely accept the tape as evidence because it was recorded by a private citizen without any influence by authorities, chief prosecutor Hans Mos told reporters. A judge in Aruba denied a prosecution request to detain Joran Van der Sloot based on the new information in the 2005 case.
Cuba: ‘Combatant’ tag challenged
A Canadian terror suspect, Omar Khadr, who was 15 at the time, was shot twice in the back by U.S. forces during a 2002 firefight in Afghanistan after he allegedly killed an American commando, according to a U.S. fighter’s eyewitness account revealed Monday. Defense attorneys said the new details would help them make a case that Khadr should not be tried before a military tribunal because his alleged offenses occurred in a combat setting — and therefore should not be considered war crimes committed by an irregular “enemy combatant.” Khadr, now 21, is charged with hurling a grenade that killed Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer, and is being held at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.
Israel: 1st suicide attack in a year
A Palestinian bomber blew himself up Monday in Dimona, a desert town near Israel’s nuclear reactor, killing an Israeli woman and wounding nine people in the first suicide attack inside Israel in a year. Police killed a second attacker after a doctor found a suicide vest while treating him for wounds suffered in the blast. An offshoot of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement claimed responsibility.
Cambodia: Genocide suspect ill
One of the five former Khmer Rouge leaders being held for trial by Cambodia’s U.N.-backed genocide tribunal was rushed to a hospital Monday, just hours after one of his co-defendants made his first court appearance. Ieng Sary, 78, was hospitalized for a urinary tract problem, his lawyer said. The 1975-1979 communist Khmer Rouge regime is widely considered responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people though execution, overwork and starvation.
Texas: Suicide on death row
A convicted murderer awaiting execution killed himself in his Richmond cell at a psychiatric center just three days after another condemned man on Texas’ death row did the same, prison officials said Monday. William Robinson, 49, used a sheet to hang himself from a vent, a Texas Department Criminal Justice spokeswoman said.
N.C.: Hiker body linked to suspect
A body found by a hunter in Macon County is a missing hiker believed to be a victim of the man who pleaded guilty in a Georgia slaying, a sheriff said Monday. The skeletal remains found Saturday were identified as belonging to John Bryant, who disappeared in October with his wife, Irene, while they were hiking in the Pisgah National Forest, Transylvania County Sheriff David Mahoney said. Mahoney has said he believes the person responsible for their deaths is Gary Michael Hilton, 61, who pleaded guilty last week to murdering a hiker in Georgia and was sentenced to life in prison.
Utah: Mormon president named
Thomas Monson, a leader who became known for his folksy storytelling as he ascended through church ranks, was introduced in Salt Lake City on Monday as the 16th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Monson, 80, succeeds Gordon Hinckley, who died last month at age 97. Out of respect for the deceased president, the Mormon church never names a successor until after funeral services. Hinckley was buried Saturday. Monson was formally chosen Sunday and ordained in a private ceremony inside the Salt Lake Temple.
From Herald news services
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