"In the three main hospitals of the town we have counted 100 civilians dead," Guilhem Molinie, head of the Medecins San Frontieres mission in Chad, told the BBC. "We are arriving at something like 700 wounded."

The Red Cross put the death toll at 160 or higher and said 1,000 were injured during the fighting in the capital, the British network reported.

"The Chadian Red Cross collected 80 bodies and there remain at least as many again, probably more," said Thomas Merkelbach, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in N'Djamena.

Anti-government forces converged on the city late last week, mainly in pickup trucks, and got into heavy fighting with police and government forces before retreating Sunday night. The rebels were reportedly running low on ammunition and fuel and were being pursued by government military helicopters.

Red Cross said workers were collecting bodies from the dusty streets strewn with burned-out vehicles. Relief workers said more than 20,000 others fled into neighboring Cameroon and Nigeria.