Chadian army repulses rebel attack on eastern town

N'DJAMENA, Chad - Rebels attacked a town in eastern Chad on Tuesday but the army repulsed them after a four-hour battle, the prime minister said.

The Chadian rebels crossed over from Sudan and attacked the small town of Ade, said Prime Minister Nouradine Delwa Kassire Koumakoye. The army was sent in and drove out the rebels within four hours.

He did not give details of casualties or damage in his briefing to diplomats in the Chadian capital, N'Djamena. The prime minister said the attack was a violation of a deal that neighbors Sudan and Chad signed earlier this month to suppress armed groups operating along their shared border.

Chad accused Sudanese authorities of arming rebels who launched a failed assault last month on N'djamena. The rebels reached the gate of the presidential palace, but fled toward Sudan after Chad's army repelled them in fighting that left hundreds dead.

Sudan has repeatedly accused Chad of supporting Darfur rebels.

A spokesman at the United Nations said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "is deeply concerned by reports of continued movement of rebel groups across the Chadian-Sudanese border and by the possibility that these groups may launch cross-border attacks."

The secretary-general called on the governments of Chad and Sudan to uphold the peace accord, signed in the Senegalese capital of Dakar two weeks ago, aimed at ensuring rebel groups from each country cannot use the neighboring country a staging ground for incursions.