The US State Department ordered all non-essential diplomats and staff to leave its embassy in Chad because of the possibility of insurgent attacks on the capital.
The families of American personnel stationed there were also instructed to leave because armed groups appeared to be advancing.
“Armed non-governmental groups in northern Chad have moved south and appear to be heading towards [Chadian capital] N’Djamena,” the State Department said in a travel alert.
“Due to their growing proximity to N’Djamena, and the possibility for violence in the city, non-essential US government employees have been ordered to leave Chad by commercial airline.”
The State Department has often warned US citizens not to travel to Chad because of unrest and the presence of ISIS-aligned terrorist insurgency Boko Haram.
Officials said any Americans there now who wanted to leave Chad should do so.
Britain also urged its citizens to leave the country as soon as possible.
Chad's army said on Saturday that it had "completely destroyed" a column of rebels that attacked the country on the day of last week's presidential election.
Soldiers were searching for the last of the rebels, army spokesman Azem Bermandoa Agouna said in a statement read on national television.
"The adventure of the mercenaries from Libya has ended, as announced," Communications Minister and government spokesman Cherif Mahamat Zene announced on Twitter.
"Congratulations to our valiant defence and security forces."
Four tanks and several soldiers were stationed at the northern entrance to N'Djamena on Saturday evening, where military vehicles continued to drive towards the fighting, an AFP journalist said.
Last Sunday, members of the Force for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) rebel group said they captured garrisons near Chad's northern borders with Niger and Libya "without resistance".
FACT is based in Libya, where it has a non-aggression pact with Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar, whose Libyan National Army controls much of the country's east.
Mainly made up of the Saharan Goran people, FACT clashes regularly with the Chadian army.
The latest assault came last Sunday, the day of Chad's presidential election, which the incumbent Idriss Deby – who has ruled the country for 30 years – is expected to win.
Preliminary results will not be announced until April 25.
Initial indications suggested large numbers of people stayed away from the vote, prompting opposition figures to claim their calls for a boycott of the polls had worked.
The Tibesti Mountains near the Libyan frontier are frequently the place where rebels and the Chadian army fight. French air strikes were called to stop an incursion there in early 2019.
Landlocked Chad is home to nearly half a million refugees from neighbouring Sudan, Nigeria and Central African Republic.
Another 330,000 Chadians are internally displaced, the majority in the volatile Lake Chad region, where Boko Haram militants are active.
Match info
Uefa Nations League Group B:
England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Scorebox
Dubai Hurricanes 31 Dubai Sports City Eagles 22
Hurricanes
Tries: Finck, Powell, Jordan, Roderick, Heathcote
Cons: Tredray 2, Powell
Eagles
Tries: O’Driscoll 2, Ives
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
