N'DJAMENA (AFP) -- Chadian rebels and government troops clashed early Saturday around the town of Abeche, 700 kilometres (440 miles) east of the capital N'Djamena, military sources said.

The fighting began shortly after dawn at around 6.00 A.M. (0500 GMT) on the outskirts of Abeche, which is the main town in eastern Chad, when the army intercepted a column of rebels, they said.

All telephone communications with the town were cut early Saturday, an AFP reporter said.