Fortifying Chad's capital city

N'Djamena is on high alert as fears that rebels, who clashed with government troops earlier in 2008, may return. Celeste Hicks reports on the measures taken to prevent further attacks.

The Chadian presidential guard remains on high alert

You notice the soldiers first.

Neatly spaced between the white sentry boxes decorated with the Chadian tricolour, and metre-high anti-explosion bollards dotted along the gates of the presidential palace, their guns are at the ready day or night.

At 4am you can see the glow of a lit cigarette floating in the dark, at midday the troops barely flinch as the city creaks under temperatures of almost 40C (104F).

These men, the presidential guard charged with protecting Idriss Deby Itno, are stationed just a 15-minute drive from the roundabout reached by the rebels in the February 2008 coup attempt.

Made up of a coalition of groups with bases in eastern Chad and the Darfur region of Sudan, these rebels are believed to receive support from Khartoum. This was their most dramatic attack to date.

This attack was too close for comfort for President Deby and he is determined not to let it happen again

For several hours the situation looked grim for the president, but at the last minute the national army got the upper hand and the rebels scattered.

Foreigners working in the embassies situated in central N'Djamena tell of hiding in their compounds as rival tanks exchanged fire outside.

The official report into the events of February estimates that several hundred people died, and that damage worth £30m ($45m) was caused. This attack was too close for comfort for President Deby and he is determined not to let it happen again.

"Rue Charles de Gaulle used to be so pretty," one of these foreigners reflects wistfully, describing N'Djamena's main street, named after the French president who had a special place in his heart for Chad.

Since February all of the mature trees which used to line the road have been cut down in case a lone sniper should hide in the branches. Without the shade they offered, the town centre is exposed to the relentless dust and sun.

Tight security

Vehicles can only enter the city through fortified gateways

Over the last few months a 3m-wide trench has been dug around the city, encircling it on three sides.

The glittering River Chari is the fourth side of the barrier.

"We call it the moat," smiles my foreign embassy contact as we sip a beer overlooking the river.

The waterway is tranquil in the early sunset with a few small fishing boats rocking on the shore and it is difficult to imagine the city in chaos. Although rumours of crocodiles being planted in the trench to deter the rebels may not be true, it is clearly an obstacle as there are now only three or four easy access points to the city.

A day out with the president, as he attends a ceremony to celebrate the construction of a Chinese-supported oil refinery, gives a clue to the level of security required for his excursions.

Journalists are instructed to arrive at the site three hours before the president.

Driving out of town my Chadian TV colleague points out to me the soldiers dotting the route, at precise 500m (1,640ft) intervals.

"Look at that control post!" he shouts excitedly as we pass another 20 soldiers, tents and jeeps.

Once we have all been security checked we are not allowed to leave our seats.

My Chadian colleagues find it as frustrating as I do that we are not able to interview and film the excited crowd of supporters who have come to see the president.

At one point my phone rings and I go behind the tent to answer. The site is surrounded by a circle of about 100 soldiers, AK-47s pointing outwards at no-one into the fields of shimmering maize.

Rebel attacks

N'Djamena thrives on rumour.

Before I arrived, I was concerned that there would not be enough stories for a foreign journalist working in Chad.

Almost everyone I spoke to laughed and said that the rebel problem had not ended with the events of February.

Most people told me that they will begin their aggression again as soon as the rainy season ends.

Well the last rain storm was the day I arrived and so far there are no rebels.

Since then I have passed many afternoons in cafes on Rue Charles de Gaulle drinking sweet cinnamon tea, discussing the latest theories with Chadian journalists who just cannot get enough of the gossip.

One of the current theories doing the rounds is that an attack will definitely come in November, because there was some kind of disturbance in November 2007, 2006 and 2005.

But this is hotly contested by the theory that the presence of the UN's international peacekeeping force, in place in the east of the country, may deter rebels from attempting to reach N'Djamena.

The only thing anyone seems to agree on is that the rebels will definitely do something. Some time. Soon.

From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Thursday, 6 November, 2008 at 1100 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.