After three hours of pre-dawn fighting which rocked the capital, N'Djamena, the president-cum-dictator of Chad this morning claimed that government troops had fended off the first wave of an attempted military coup.

In a broadcast interview President Isdriss Deby Itno assured listeners that the city had been brought "completely under control" by mid-morning.

"There is nothing, nothing at all... There was some light-weapons fire near the National Assembly, that’s all... Three vehicles were spotted, they were destroyed on the spot," he told Radio France Internationale (RFI) in an interview from his palace.

Reporters in the capital said that the explosions and fierce gunfire which rattled through the sprawling city from 5.30am (0430 GMT) this morning appeared to have died down.

Military helicopters and French-made Mirage F1 jetfighters were patrolling overhead. Columns of thick black smoke could be seen rising from the centre. Mobile phone networks have been switched off to obstruct communication between rebels and their supporters.

Although the immediate threat appears to have been countered, the African Union's Peace and Security Council will hold an emergency session in Addis Ababa today to discuss the deteriorating situation. There were reports of other military clashes in the eastern town of Adre and in Dourbali, about 60 miles southeast of N'Djamena.

Rebels from the United Front for Change (FUC), a loose coalition of eight anti-government organisations, claim to be in control of 80 per cent of the country. They have pledged to overthrow the authoritarian president, who changed the law to seek a third term in elections on May 3. Opponents will boycott the poll, claiming it will be neither fair or transparent.

President Deby recently survived an assassination and coup attempt and has suffered a series of desertions and defections from his party and army in recent months. Last week his nephew Abakar Youssouf Itno, the army chief of staff, was killed in a rebel-led attack on the town of Moudeina.

Undeterred, the President - who seized power in a 1990 coup - said today that his re-election campaign would continue and promised to appear at a rally planned for this afternoon. His once iron grip on power has been undermined by the spread of fighting from neighbouring Sudan and the discovery of new oil reserves.

France, a former colonial power, has sent in an extra 150 troops to bolster its contingent of 1,200 and protect the 1,500 French residents. Jean-Baptiste Mattei, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that France condemns all efforts to seize power by force.

The area has been volatile since the outbreak of a rebellion in Sudan’s western Darfur region sent an exodus of Sudanese refugees into Chad. This week’s fighting in Chad has revived fears that the Darfur conflict could undermine the wider region where Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic meet.

Chadian rebels have begun launching attacks on their home country from bases inside Darfur. Since their first major attack, on the city of Adre in December, their numbers have grown from 8,000 to 9,000 well-armed men.

Sudan also accuses Chad of harbouring insurgents. Rights groups have said Chadian and Sudanese militias in Darfur have launched frequent cross-border raids, killing Chadian civilians.

Chad is home to about 10 million people, mostly of Arab origin. The country became independent from France in 1960, but has been wracked by conflict for most of its history and is regularly cited as the most corrupt nation in the world.

President Deby, although criticised for accepting foreign aid to stave off famine while simultaneously spending money on civil war, has led the country through one of the most peaceful periods in its recent history.

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