After carrying out a mass rescue of 200 girls and 93 women from the forest stronghold of an Islamic insurgent group, Nigeria’s military is evacuating the females and plans to check their physical and mental health, an army spokesman has said.

Boko Haram fighters attacked a village in Chad, the first known lethal attack in that country by the Nigerian militant group, which killed several people including a local chief, according to residents and security forces.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has claimed responsibility for the mass killings in the north-east Nigerian town of Baga and threatened more violence.

Two teenagers who robbed a newsagent before bragging about it on Facebook minutes later were caught due to their underwear being captured on CCTV, police said.

There are reports tonight that the top Al-Qaeda commander who ordered an attack on a gas plant in Algeria has been killed.

Chadian president Idriss Deby has announced that Chadian troops fighting to dislodge an al Qaida affiliate in northern Mali have killed one of the group’s leading commanders, Abou Zeid.

Troops from Chad have killed 65 Islamic extremist rebels and destroyed five vehicles in fierce fighting in northern Mali, the country’s military said today.

French troops have encircled a key Malian town to stop radical Islamists from striking closer to the capital, a French official said.

The president of Central African Republic urgently called on France and other foreign powers to help his government fend off rebels who are quickly seizing territory and approaching the capital city, but French officials declined to offer any military assistance.

The final batch of Irish peacekeeping troops serving in war-torn Chad will today touch down in Dublin.

The final batch of Irish peacekeeping troops serving in war-torn Chad were tonight making the long journey home.

THE first batch of Irish troops finally arrived back on home soil from Chad yesterday after being delayed by the ash cloud.

THE association representing rank and file members of the defence forces has asked Defence Minister Tony Killeen to reconsider his decision to withdraw Irish troops from Chad.

Darfur’s most powerful rebel group has initialled a truce with the Sudanese government, officials said today, marking a return to peace talks aimed at ending the Darfur conflict.

Another 200 Irish soldiers are tonight preparing for deployment to Chad.

After bitter wrangling, Africa’s leaders agreed to denounce the International Criminal Court and refuse to extradite Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted for crimes against humanity in Darfur.

CHAD may rank among the most hostile missions Irish troops have ever embarked on, but it is no place for soccer or volleyball.

IRISH troops have had more than 200 encounters with armed bandits and have come under fire while defending refugee camps in Chad, the mid-term review of the mission to the embattled African state has been told.

Hundreds of Irish troops may have to remain in war-torn Chad after the March 2009 end-date of the €57m mission, the Defence Minister told the Dáil today.

In the complex, long-running war the real peacekeeper’s weapon can be an understanding of human nature and some good communication skills

SENDING in troops to protect refugees and aid agencies at the very heart of a humanitarian crisis may seem like an obvious move, but for Ireland and Europe it has been a very controversial one.

Rebels trying to topple President Idriss Deby today attacked a town in eastern Chad where thousands of refugees are taking shelter.

IRISH troops arriving in Chad face a race against time to establish their presence before the rainy season turns their baking desert home into a sea of mud.

Sudan has cut ties with neighbouring Chad, following accusations that it supported rebels who attacked Khartoum.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern has raised the prospect of Irish troops serving many years in war-torn Chad.

SPEAKING in a recent Dáil debate on the Lisbon treaty, Sinn Féin spokesperson Aengus Ó Snodaigh referred to the participation of the Irish defence forces in the UN-mandated and EU-led peacekeeping mission to Chad as a “military adventure”.

SUDAN yesterday accused Chad of attacking its troops and bombing a village in Darfur, and vowed to respond to the “aggressive and serious” violations of a fledgling peace agreement.

CHAD’S President Idriss Deby yesterday granted an official pardon for six French aid workers jailed in December for abducting children from the landlocked central African country, state radio said.

The Defence Forces were tonight preparing a major logistical operation to transport supplies and equipment to the elite Army Ranger unit in Chad.

Chad’s president declared a nationwide state of emergency, telling his citizens that tightened controls were needed to restore order after recent rebel attacks.

CHAD’S prime minister demanded on Monday that the international community remove refugees who have fled to Chad from Sudan’s Darfur region.

UP TO 12,000 refugees from Sudan’s Darfur region have fled across the border to neighbouring Chad after the latest air strikes by the Sudanese military and thousands more may be on their way, the UN refugee agency said yesterday.

CHAD’S president issued a “solemn call” yesterday for a planned European peacekeeping force to quickly deploy to Chad to ease pressure on his forces after days of fighting left hundreds dead in the Central African country.

Chad's president insisted today that his government had total control of the country, even as he said three-quarters of his officials had disappeared during weekend battles with rebels which left hundreds dead and prompted thousands to flee the capital.

Chad rebels said today they withdrew voluntarily from Chad’s capital overnight, but it was unclear if they succumbed to the force of helicopter gunships and tanks deployed by government forces.

Six French charity workers sentenced to eight years’ forced labour in Chad for trying to kidnap 103 children arrived back in France tonight.

CHAD insisted yesterday it would have the last word over the fates of six French aid workers sentenced to eight years of forced labour as France asked they be sent home.

Chad insisted today that it would have the last word over the fates of six French aid workers sentenced to eight years of forced labour as France asked that they be sent home.

One of six French aid workers charged in Chad with kidnapping children told a court today that local colleagues had misled them.

THE head of a French charity on trial with five colleagues in Chad yesterday denied kidnapping 103 children, saying he believed in good faith they were saving orphans from Darfur.

Six French charity workers accused of kidnapping children they claimed were Darfur orphans said they were protected by international law from any charges at their trial today.

EDWARD HORGAN (Letters, December 10) is probably right when he suggests the proposed EU “humanitarian mission” to Chad is a cover to project and protect European influence and unfair trade, in Chad’s case to project France’s influence in particular.

IRELAND’S peacekeeping mission to the central African country of Chad has been postponed until next year due to what the Government said was a lack of adequate air support for troops.

Soldiers and rebels have both claimed to have killed several hundred of their opponents in combat yesterday in eastern Chad in what may turn out to be the heaviest fighting since rebels tried to take the capital N’Djamena last year.