Opposition forces in Chad have clashed with government forces in the capital Ndjamena for a second day and were reported to be advancing towards the presidential palace.

Sunday's fighting comes after Libya's state news agency said that the rebels had agreed to a ceasefire with the government after mediation by Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's leader.

"The leader and brother [Gaddafi] had a telephone call with Mahamat Nouri, one of the leaders of the insurgency in Chad, and it was agreed ... to cease fire and to hold negotiations to implement the Tripoli agreement for peace and reconciliation," the JANA agency said on its website.

But Henchi Ordjo, an opposition alliance spokesman, told Reuters news agency on Saturday that fighters had simply held back an assault on the palace to allow Idriss Deby, Chad's president, the opportunity to leave.

"No ceasefire has been agreed," Ordjo said.

Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa, reporting from Njadmena, said that a new round of fighting had broken out early on Sunday.

"It doesn't look like a ceasefire is in place, the fighting is getting closer to where we are," she said.

The fighting has left hundreds of people wounded, mainly civilians hit by stray bullets, aid group Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) said on Sunday.

Rebel accusations

Deby has turned down a French offer to help him escape from the advance, an official source in Paris told AFP news agency on Sunday.

Rebel leaders accuse Deby of ruling like a dictator and favouring his family and friends.

Al Jazeera's Mutasa said that several Chadian soldiers had come to the gates of a hotel where expatriates are holed up in an effort to take refuge, but were turned away by French troops.

"No one knows who is in control, but there are reports that the government is sending in reinforcements to fight the rebels. This is all going on while the French army tries to evacuate French and other foreign nationals," Mutasa said.

She also said that while the evacuations of foreigners were under way, Chadian residents have been left to fend for themselves.

"It was planned that the Chadian army would also protect civilians, but it doesn't seem to be the case now - and they are left to find shelter from from the fighting."

Chadians flee

Cameroon authorities said that thousands of refugees from Ndjamena, including foreign diplomats, had fled to the northern Cameroon towns of Kousseri and Maroua.

"Late last night we counted about 3,000 here. All the inns and small hotels here are full and those who cannot afford then are lodged in a primary school and temporary shelters," Alain Fritz Ndibi, Kousseri senior administration officer, said.

"I can hear gun and mortar fire from across the river."

There has been no official confirmation about the whereabouts of Deby, but two of his ministers said he remained inside the palace complex at the head of loyal troops.

Mahamat Ali Abdallah Nassour, minister of state in Deby's government, told Radio France International (RFI) that Chad's security forces were "in control in the capital".

Chadian army helicopters took off from the military base at the airport and had opened fire on opposition fighters in south Ndjamena, a military source said on Saturday.

A French air force plane began evacuating several hundred French and other foreign nationals to Gabon, an official at the French military base in Ndjamena said.

The US embassy said its non-essential staff and family members would also be evacuated.

Herve Morin, French defence minister, said France, Chad's former colonial power, which has been accused by the rebels of propping up Deby, would remain "neutral".

'Brutal attack'

But Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, condemned what he called "a brutal attack against an elected and legitimate president".

The US and African Union also condemned the rebels' attack.

The AU has threatened to eject Chad from the 53-nation body if the opposition alliance took power.

The rebels allegedly met little resistance as they advanced across the country from the eastern border with Sudan's Darfur region.

Chad says the rebels are armed and backed by the Sudanese government. Khartoum denies such accusations.

Al Jazeera English - News - Renewed Battles In Chad Capital