Relief agencies in the eastern Chadian town of Abeche were considering evacuating non-essential staff after rebels on Saturday overran the area, which serves as a hub to assist tens of thousands of refugees and internally displaced Chadians.

“We’re considering our options,” Marcus Prior, West Africa spokesman for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), told IRIN on Monday. “We want to maintain our essential staff in Abeche so we will be doing everything we can to do that. Although, obviously, we want to watch the situation as it evolves and certainly when it’s possible, look to relocate our non-essential staff.”

Prior said a WFP warehouse, including 483 tonnes of food aid worth about US $500,000, as well as that belonging to the UN refugee agency, had been looted. All staff members were safe.

It was not immediately clear who ransacked the warehouses, although witnesses reported that once several columns of rebels entered Abeche, civilians took the opportunity to loot and burn government offices, as well as the home of the governor and of President Idriss Deby, who was not in Abeche at the time. Part of his house was burned as well. Several prisoners were set free, including some in handcuffs and with chains on their ankles.

“For the moment there is score settling and that is what is dangerous,” said one resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “In my opinion, the rebels didn’t do anything bad to the local population. On the contrary, it was the locals who profited from their entrance into town. Police are patrolling the neighbourhoods to recover things that were stolen. People are scared so they have begun to give things back.”

Abeche serves as a key base for aid operations in eastern Chad, assisting 218,000 refugees from Sudan’s neighbouring Darfur region as well as 90,000 IDPs. Chad has accused Sudan of harbouring the rebels and Sudan denies this.

The Chadian government claimed on Sunday to have retaken Abeche, 700 km east of the capital, N’djamena, and Prior said the town was calm after clashes in and outside Abeche on Saturday.

“We’re obviously extremely concerned about being able to continue our essential operations in eastern Chad,” Prior said. “However, all distributions for November are completed in the camps and all food for December distributions is already in the 12 camps in the east. But it is an extremely difficult working environment.”

Prior said although the camps were in “a very tense location”, they were protected by Chadian gendarmes.

Chad on Sunday sought to allay fears that rebels were bearing down on N’djamena after a warning by the French military, which maintains bases in Chad, including one on the outskirts of Abeche. An attack by hundreds of rebels on N'djamena in April left more than 200 people dead.

That assault was repelled after French fighter jets bombed advancing rebels. France regularly provides aerial surveillance and support to Chad’s army, but has never directly engaged the rebels.

It is not known how large the rebel groups are and they have released little information about their goals, beyond removing Deby from office. The movement has dozens of different wings and constantly shifting coalitions.