In N'Djamena, the simultaneous presence of two armies—Prime Minister Habré's FAN and President Malloum's FAT—set the stage for the battle of N'Djamena, which was to bring about the collapse of the State and the ascent to power of the Northern elite. A minor incident escalated on 12 February 1979 into heavy fighting between Habré and Malloum's forces, and the battle intensified on 19 February when Goukouni's men entered in the capital to fight alongside Habré. By 16 March, when the first international peace conference took place, an estimated 2,000–5,000 people had been killed and 60,000–70,000 forced to flee. The greatly diminished Chadian army left the capital in the rebels' hands and reorganized itself in the south under the leadership of Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué. During the battle, the French garrison stood passively by, even helping Habré in certain circumstances, as when they demanded that the Chadian Air Force stop its bombings.