The Transitional government of Chad has invited opposition armed groups to participate in a national dialogue to determine the future of the country, reversing previous statements that the government would not negotiate with rebels.

Mahamat Idriss Deby, who heads the Transitional Military Council (CMT), seized power In April after his father, the former president, was killed while visiting troops fighting an insurgency in the north.

Rebel groups were invited to take part in an "Inclusive National Dialogue", before the holding of presidential and legislative elections, Deby said, without giving a timetable.

The junta has previously refused to negotiate with rebel groups, in particular the fighters from the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), which in April swept south from bases in Libya and reached within 300km of the capital N'Djamena.

Deby said armed groups have "a patriotic obligation to reconsider their positions" and to help the transitional council build national unity.