Leaders discuss Kenya, Chad crises at Africa summit

The 53-state African Union on Friday said the meeting would group heads of state and government, to mull a response to the crises in Kenya, Chad and the Comoros.

As Chadian rebels on a major offensive clashed with government forces only 50 kilometres from the capital Ndjamena, officials attending the summit in Addis Ababa held a series of special meetings.

One high-ranking AU official said that the fighting could have a serious impact on the deployment of a European peacekeeping force in Chad and of an African Union-UN contingent in neighbouring Sudan's Darfur region.

"This attack means that everything is up in the air," said the official, who declined to be identified.

The European Union announced on Friday it was delaying the deployment of troops and equipment.

The so-called "hybrid force" being set up by the AU and UN in Darfur also faced fresh challenges, as the Chadian rebel attack was launched from Sudan, raising the prospect of instability along Darfur's border.

But as the top UN envoy in Sudan, Jan Eliasson, put it earlier: "Darfur and Chad cannot be divorced."

European ambassadors attending the African Union summit also held a special meeting on Chad on Friday, after an opening day dominated by the crisis in Kenya.

African leaders and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday pressed Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his opposition rival Raila Odinga to do their utmost to quell post-election violence.

The clashes have left around 1,000 dead. - By DDNEWS