Irish troops serving with an EU military force (EUFOR) in Chad came under fire in the east of the country as rebels attacked government troops in Goz-Beida, 40 miles from the border with Sudan's Darfur region.
The attack on the town came on the third day of what rebel forces say is their latest offensive westwards aimed at trying to overthrow President Idriss Deby.
A statement issued by the Defence Forces this evening confirmed that its troops came under fire at around12.30 pm today. There were no Irish casualties in the incident.
An armoured Irish patrol was monitoring a clash between Chadian army and rebel forces when fire was received "in its general direction".
The Defence forces said it was "not clear" who fired upon the troops. Fire was briefly returned.
"We have troops between Djabal refugee camp and the fighting in town and the (humanitarian) NGOs are sitting tight. It's best they stay put as there is still fighting and it's a bit ropey in town," Commandant Stephen Morgan of the Irish 97th Infantry Battalion told Reuters during the fighting.
"We have no desire to clash with EUFOR forces as long as they remain neutral," rebel spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah, whose Democratic Union for Change (UDC) group belongs to the insurgent alliance, told Reuters by telephone from France.
Additional troops have been deployed from Camp Ciara to protect camps which contain 15,000 refugees and 36,000 IDP’s.
Staff of the international NGO community have been offered security in Camp Ciara and Dutch Marines, working with Irish troops, are currently escorting them.
Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea is being kept informed of the situation.
The 97 Infantry Battalion is stationed at Camp Ciara, a purpose built camp adjacent to an airstrip which is approx. 5 kilometres east of Goz Beida.
Goz-Beida is surrounded by United Nations-run camps housing tens of thousands of Sudanese and Chadian refugees. They are being protected by an Irish infantry battalion that deployed in east Chad this year.
One rebel spokesman had said the rebels were prepared to call off their offensive if France and the European Union forced Deby to agree to round-table talks on Chad's political future.
Another insurgent spokesman, Ali Gadaye, called on France and the international community to stop supporting Deby. "The Deby regime is at the end of its tether," he said.
A fresh Chadian rebel offensive against Deby had been widely expected since Sudanese Darfuri insurgents attacked the Sudanese capital Khartoum in May. Both countries accuse each other of supporting rebel groups hostile to each others' governments.