The UN Security Council on Monday unanimously agreed to a non-binding statement condemning the rebel attacks in Chad and urging member states to extend support to the beleaguered Ndjamena government.
The text, read out by the council chair for this month, Ambassador Ricardo Alberto Arias of Panama, "strongly condemns these attacks and all attempts at destabilisation by force" and calls on member states "to provide support as requested by the government of Chad."
Sunday, in a letter to Arias, Chad's UN Ambassador Mahamat Adoum asked all member states "to provide it with all the assistance necessary to help it end this aggression."
The text was adopted after Russia lifted objections it had raised during a an emergency session of the 15-member council Sunday. The decision came as thousands of civilians fled the Chadian capital and rebels threatened a fresh offensive to oust President Idriss Deby after two days of heavy fighting saw them pull out of the city.
France's UN Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, whose country is the former colonial ruler of Chad, immediately welcomed the council's prompt adoption of the French-drafted text.