Opposition leader held in the south

Chadian opposition leader Michel Mbailemal, arrested on Monday for allegedly fomenting a rebellion, is being held in Moundou, some 600 km south of Ndjamena, Chad's Communication Minister, Moussa Dago, told IRIN on Wednesday. Mbailemal, leader of the Comite d'action pour la Liberte et la Democratie, two of his aides and two senior army officers were arrested after a shoot-out between his group and troops escorting government officials who had approached him for talks about the rebellion he was allegedly planning in southern Chad, Dago said. Mbailemal's followers opened fire wounding one government soldier while one of his men was killed in the exchange, according to Dago. "We don't know the motive for his action," Dago said. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the government announced in June the discovery of a rebellion in the making in the Eastern Logone region, where oil has been discovered. The government, Reuters said, named former foreign minister Antoine Bangui as leader of the group. Bangui also heads the Mouvement pour la reconstruction nationale du Chad (MORENAT), a legitimate political party.