THE government of Chad this week admitted that it faces a new armed insurgency in the desert north of the country, but has played down the scale of the rebellion, claiming to have the upper hand.In a first acknowledgement of unrest in the Tibesti region on the border with Niger and Libya, Defence Minister Oumar Kadjalami last Thursday said government troops had battled Toubou rebels backing ex-defence minister Youssouf Togoimi. More than 100 Toubou tribal warriors are said to have crossed the border from Niger in a column of 11 all-terrain vehicles, which was intercepted by the army. Kadjalami said 28 of the rebels were killed and seven taken prisoner.