At 11:30 on the morning of May 7, 2009, a Presidential Guard battalion led by General Toufa Abdoulaye ambushed a column of UFR rebels on the eastern outskirts of Am Dam, a village 100 kilometers south of Abéché in southeastern Chad. Mounted infantry from both sides exchanged fire from the backs of Toyota “technicals” mounted with heavy weapons. One eyewitness saw anti-aircraft weapons used against targets on the ground.