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Russian diplomats' families evacuated from Chad

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MOSCOW, February 4 (RIA Novosti) - The families of Russian diplomats in Chad have been evacuated amid turmoil in the capital, stormed over the weekend by rebels attempting to overthrow the government, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

"Russia's Embassy in N'Djamena is continuing its work," the ministry said in a statement. "Appropriate security measures have been taken."

The Russians have been flown to Gabon with the help of French diplomats.

"Moscow highly regards the efforts of our French partners who assisted in providing security for Russian citizens in Chad," the statement said.

Thousands of people have fled the capital and hundreds have been killed or wounded since street fighting began when rebels entered the capital on Saturday in an attempt to oust President Idriss Deby, who seized power in 1990.

The government said on Monday the rebels have been driven out of N'Djamena, but opposition forces said they have made a strategic withdrawal to the capital's eastern districts.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the new outbreak of violence in Chad threatened peacekeeping and aid operations in the country and stability in the region as a whole.

Chad is a former French colony in Central Africa which gained independence in 1960. It borders the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan.

In April 2006, rebels from the United Front for Change stormed the capital in a similar attempt to oust the authorities, but their attacks were repelled by government forces.

Chadian officials claim that the rebels are supported and armed by the neighboring Sudan, but Sudanese authorities have repeatedly denied such allegations.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said on Sunday that he was "profoundly alarmed" by the developments in Chad.

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