ADDIS ABABA, Feb 1: A summit of African leaders shifted its attention Friday from the crisis in Kenya to Chad, with delegates voicing fears of a major conflict that could scupper peace efforts in Sudan.

The 53-state African Union also elected Gabon's foreign minister, Jean Ping, as the new chairman of its main executive arm, replacing the charismatic Alpha Omar Konare, Mali's former president, who had been at the helm since 2003.As Chadian rebels on a major offensive clashed with government forces only 50 kilometres from the capital Ndjamena, officials attending the summit in Addis Ababa held a series of special meetings.

One high-ranking AU official said that the fighting could have a serious impact on the deployment of a European peacekeeping force in Chad and of an African Union-UN contingent in neighbouring Sudan's Darfur region.

“This attack means that everything is up in the air,” said the official, who declined to be identified. The so-called “hybrid force” being set up by the AU and UN in Darfur faced fresh challenges, as the Chadian rebel attack was launched from Sudan, raising the prospect of instability along Darfur's border.

But as the top UN envoy in Sudan, Jan Eliasson, put it earlier: “Darfur and Chad cannot be divorced.”—AFP