Chad ? Thousands of residents poured out of N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, on Monday as clashes between rebel and government forces cooled after two days of combat, according to reports from the besieged city.

Though scattered fighting continued Monday, rebel forces broke off their attack on the palace of President Idriss Deby and retreated to positions east of N’Djamena as civilians fled westward, across a bridge into neighboring Cameroon. Humanitarian groups began moving workers and resources toward the border to help the fleeing civilians.

The pause in the fighting came as the U.N. Security Council condemned the attacks, potentially opening the way for France, which has 1,800 troops in Chad but is officially neutral, to side openly with Deby in his struggle to assert control in the former French colony.