Chad military shows captured suspected rebels

Chad's military transitional government said on Sunday it would not negotiate with rebels blamed for killing President Idriss Deby Itno, raising the spectre that rebel fighters might press ahead with their threats to attack the capital.

On Saturday state TV showed hundreds of prisoners, said to be rebels, arriving at a prison in the capital, N'Djamena.

The Chadian rebels, known by their French acronym FACT, were based in southern Libya and are believed to have crossed back over into Chad earlier this month.

In a televised statement, military spokesman General Azem Bermandoa Agouma said no negotiations were possible.

"Faced with this situation that endangers Chad and the stability of the entire sub-region, this is not the time for mediation or negotiation with outlaws," he said.

The military spokesman said some of the rebels had escaped in the direction of Chad's border with Niger and called for Niger's government to help capture them.