Chadian troops repulsed an attack on a town near the Sudanese border on Sunday in fighting that killed around 100 people, Communication Minister Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor said. "There was an attack this morning in the town of Adre," Doumgor said. "The army counter-attacked. There were around 100 killed," he said, adding losses on the rebel side had been worse than on the government side in what aid workers say is the worst offensive to date of a growing conflict.UPDATE: 300 Militants Killed in Chad Clashes
N'DJAMENA, Chad (AP) -- Government forces clashed with army deserters in an eastern border town, killing about 300 militants in the biggest recent offensive against rebels, officials said Monday. Five soldiers and three civilians also died in Sunday's raid to retake control of Adre, 620 miles east of the capital of N'djamena, the army said in a statement read on state-owned Radio Chad. The clash was with two rebel groups - the Rally for Democracy and Freedom and the Foundation for Change, Unity and Democracy, the army said.
Communication Minister Hourmadji Moussa and the army said some 300 rebels were killed, although the claim couldn't be independently verified. Representatives of the rebels were not immediately available for comment. If true, the death toll would be the largest in recent fighting between government forces and military deserters reportedly seeking to overthrow President Idriss Deby. Scores of soldiers deserted several military camps in October and have since regrouped in eastern Chad, near the border with Sudan's volatile western region of Darfur. Joined by former high-ranking government officials - including two nephews of Deby - some of the rebels have formed the Foundation for Change, Unity and Democracy. It is not clear who makes up the Rally for Democracy and Freedom. Later Monday, Foreign Minister Ahmat Allam-mi accused Sudan of supporting the two groups - an allegation that Sudan's Foreign Ministry denied.