Chad: Assembly urges tough stance in World Bank row

Chad's National Assembly has asked the government to close an offshore oil account the World Bank had ordered frozen in a dispute, and said it should consider breaking ties with the global lender "if necessary". The request, contained in a resolution passed by the Chadian parliament, signalled a hardening of Chad's position in its continuing row with the World Bank over changes made by President Idriss Deby's government to an oil revenue law. The dispute is linked to the bank's biggest investment on the continent, a $3.7 billion oil pipeline built and operated by a consortium led by US oil major Exxon Mobil Corp.