Chad's new ruling junta said Sunday it would not negotiate with rebels who launched an offensive in the north of the poor Sahel country two weeks ago and are accused of killing veteran ruler Idriss Deby Itno. "The time is not for mediation, nor for negotiation with outlaws," Azem Bermandoa Agouna, spokesman of the military council headed by the late strongman's son Mahamat Idriss Deby, said in a statement the day after the rebels said they were prepared to observe a ceasefire. yas-amt/gd/jj