Chad's government announced Monday that rebels seeking to overthrow the country's president have been driven out of the capital after fighting continued throughout the whole weekend.

The rebels say they have made a strategic withdrawal to the eastern edge of N'Djamena claiming they were giving civilians a chance to escape before launching another offensive, BBC reported.

According to aid agencies, there are dead bodies lying on the streets of N'Djamena, while thousands of people are fleeing the city after the turmoil.

The European Union has decided to delay the planned deployment of its peacekeeping force to Chad because of the unrest, while the UN called an emergency meeting in New York to discuss the crisis.

A statement from the office of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern at the "serious humanitarian situation of some 285,000 refugees and 180,000 internally displaced persons, as well as host communities, in eastern Chad".

African, European and American officials have condemned the rebel assault in the African country, which borders Sudan's war-torn Darfur province.