The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR expressed alarm Thursday over violence in Chad and the possible consequences for the security and welfare of some 200,000 refugees from Sudan's Darfur region.

In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres appealed for calm urging those fighting in Chad to respect the civilian character of the refugee camps in the east of the country.

"I urgently appeal to all sides in this political upheaval to respect the civilian character of the refugee camps and to leave in peace those who have already fled the terrors of Darfur," said Guterres in a statement received in Nairobi.

There was heavy fighting early Thursday between government and rebel forces in the Chadian capital, N'Djamena, along with clashes in Adre in the east of the country.

But it subsided after breaking out at dawn between government troops and rebels trying to overthrow President Idriss Deby, who declared Thursday that he had fought off the attempt and the situation in the capital was under control.

The UNHCR which runs 12 refugee camps in the east said the situation in the camps was calm.

The UN refugee agency said it started to reduce staffing levels in some field offices in the east after several armed men entered and briefly took control of the Goz Amer refugee camp on Monday afternoon.

"Some staff remained to maintain essential services in the camps. The agency is also reviewing staffing levels elsewhere in the country in the wake of the fighting in the capital, and an evacuation of nonessential personnel and dependents is planned," said the UNHCR.

Guterres has warned in recent months that unrest on both sides of the Sudan-Chad border was posing a growing risk to civilians, the displaced and aid workers, as well as to overall regional stability.

Chad, which is rich in oil, has been hit by the conflict in neighboring Sudan's western Darfur region, with hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing across the border.

Deby's government blames Sudan for inspiring the uprising -- an accusation Sudan denies -- while Sudan accuses Deby of supporting the Sudanese rebels in Darfur who belong to his ethnic group.

Source: Xinhua