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Chad manhunt for French soldier Chad hunts for rogue legionnaire
(about 7 hours later)
A manhunt has been launched for a French foreign legionnaire who, reports say, killed two comrades and a Togolese UN peacekeeper in eastern Chad. A manhunt is under way for a French Foreign Legion soldier who killed two comrades and a Togolese UN peacekeeper in eastern Chad, say officials.
European peacekeepers said the bodies of the two legionnaires and the Togolese soldier were found after shots were heard at their camp. Helicopters are leading the search for the rogue soldier, who fled across the southern Sahara on a stolen horse, according to reports.
Captain Christophe Prazuck said the "deranged" man then fled the scene. European peacekeepers said the Togolese soldier and two legionnaires were found dead after gunshots at the camp.
An unnamed local official was quoted as saying the fugitive soldier later shot and killed a Chadian civilian. Captain Christophe Prazuck said the "deranged" soldier then fled.
Both EU peacekeepers and Chadian authorities were involved in the search for the man near his base in the eastern town of Abeche, Capt Prazuck told the French news agency AFP. An unnamed local official was quoted as saying the fugitive soldier later shot and killed a Chadian civilian, after fleeing Camp des Etoiles military base in the city of Abeche.
'Fit of madness' 'He flipped'
Both EU peacekeepers and Chadian authorities were involved in the manhunt, Capt Prazuck, of the French military high command, told AFP news agency.
He will have been trained in desert survival techniques, which will make it all the harder to find him French military source
Correspondents say terrain in the central African desert state is dotted with the odd tree which could provide cover from aerial surveillance.
French Defence Minister Herve Morin said the soldier had clearly been "seized by a fit of madness".French Defence Minister Herve Morin said the soldier had clearly been "seized by a fit of madness".
"He is being actively sought after by the French gendarmerie, Chadian authorities and the entirety of troops based in Abeche," said Mr Morin. "He is being actively sought by the French gendarmerie, Chadian authorities and the entirety of troops based in Abeche," said Mr Morin.
The three legionnaires were part of the 3,000-strong Eufor force that has for the past year helped to protect refugees from Darfur and those displaced by other conflicts in the region. The defence minister told France Info radio the authorities had no explanation for the soldier's actions "other than that he flipped". Mr Morin described the man's actions as "totally out of order and intolerable".
The Togolese was part of a 5,200-strong force of peacekeepers from the UN's Minurcat mission who are now charged with protecting the refugees. The minister also reportedly said the soldier had passed a series of psychiatric tests before being accepted into the Legion in February 2007.
The Eufor force had handed over operations in the central African desert state to the larger UN force last month. An unnamed military source told AFP: "The guy is dangerous because he is armed and he has a psychological problem.
Almost 500,000 people are living in camps in eastern Chad and the north-east of the Central African Republic. "He will have been trained in desert survival techniques, which will make it all the harder to find him."
The legionnaires were part of the Eufor force that has for the past year helped to protect refugees from Darfur.
The Togolese soldier was part of a UN mission, which took over peacekeeping operations in Chad last month.