Thousands flee fighting in Chad

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NAIROBI, Kenya — After two days of pitched battles in which military helicopters bombarded rebels on battlewagons and both sides sprayed artillery fire, the capital of the central African nation of Chad was mostly quiet Monday.

But thousands of frightened civilians fled the capital, N'Djamena, into neighboring Cameroon over the Chari river, fearing that fighting would resume soon.

The refugees included Chadian staff members of the U.S.-based charity group World Vision, who reported that rebels had told civilians to flee, according to Ann Birch, an agency spokeswoman.

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