Hervé Morin, French defence minister, flew to Chad on Wednesday in a show of support for President Idriss Déby, after France indicated that it was prepared to intervene militarily to shore up the Chad government against a rebel onslaught.

”I can confirm that Mr Morin is in N’Djamena and will be visiting French troops and the Chadian authorities,” a spokesman at the French military base in N’Djamena told Reuters.