In Chad, international observers are warning of a humanitarian crisis following days of fighting between government and rebel forces. The Red Cross says more than one thousand people have been killed. UN spokesperson Rod Redmond warned more than 20,000 have been displaced.

UN spokesperson Rod Redmond: “A five-member UNHCR team arrived last evening in the Cameroon border town of Kousseri. They estimate that up to 20,000 people have crossed the river border with Chad on Saturday to escape fighting in the Chadian capital N’Djamena. As of this morning, frightened people were still crossing the bridge in a continuous flow from Chad, N’Djamena to Kousseri.”

The rebels say they’re trying to overthrow a dictatorship. Chad has accused the Sudanese government of backing the rebels to delay the deployment of a European Union force for Darfurian refugees there. France has said its prepared to intervene after the UN Security Council authorized it to back the Chadian government.