Chad's government is extending emergency measures by six months in an effort to quell ethnic conflicts in the country's east.
Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji told lawmakers that more time is needed to restore peace and reconciliation. He also accused the government in neighboring Sudan of fueling the conflict. Sudan denies the claim.
Chad first declared a state of emergency last week, because of fighting between ethnic Arab and ethnic African communities. Officials say 400 people have died in recent attacks, and thousands of others have fled their homes.
United Nations officials say Chadian villagers described being attacked by Arab nomads from Chad and western Sudan.
U.N. officials and aid workers say they fear the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region between rebels and pro-government forces is spreading to Chad.