The Chadian army says President Idriss Deby has been killed in clashes with anti-government forces, ending his 30-year rule over the central African nation.
A Chadian army spokesman said on state television Tuesday (April 20) that Deby died of injuries sustained while visiting troops on the front line. An anti-government armed group known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad has been advancing from the north toward the capital, N’Djamena, in recent days.
The Chadian government and parliament have been dissolved, and army spokesman Azem Bermendao Agouna said a military commission will lead Chad for the next 18 months. He said the commission will be headed by Deby’s 37-year-old son, Gen. Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.
The State Department offered condolences to the people of Chad and said the U.S. “supports a peaceful transition of power in accordance with the Chadian constitution.
Adm. Steven Townsend, commander of U.S. Africa Command, said Tuesday that it is unclear what Deby’s death means for U.S.-Chadian relations, but he added that Deby’s son prefers to maintain good relations with both France and the United States. France has a military base in Chad.
Earlier, the U.S. Africa Command said it was “closely monitoring incursions by anti-government forces in Chad,” while the U.S. Embassy in N’Djamena ordered employees to seek shelter in place because of the potential for unrest.
Déby, 68, has ruled Chad since taking power in a 1990 coup, making him one of Africa’s longest-ruling leaders. Opponents have called him a despot and criticized his management of Chad’s oil revenues, and in 2008, another anti-government force came close to overthrowing Deby in N’Djamena, but French and Chadian forces pushed them back.
The West, however, sees Déby as a key ally in the fight against Islamist extremist groups in West Africa and the Sahel. These groups include Boko Haram, which is based in Nigeria.
Chad’s former colonial suzerain, France, on Tuesday hailed Déby as a “brave ally” and a “great fighter” to protect Chad. The French statement urged that the transition of power from the Déby era take place under “peaceful conditions.
Chadian opposition leader Saleh Kebzabo told the Voice of America’s Francophone Africa group that he was surprised to learn of President Déby’s death and called for dialogue to resolve the country’s problems.
“We believe that in this situation, people should avoid taking abrupt decisions. People should make time for consultations, for unity and understanding, so that Chadians can look at the future in the same direction,” he said. “At this juncture, it should also be recalled that last week, political figures, including myself and those civil society groups, signed a joint statement entitled ‘Joint Statement Calling for Inclusive Dialogue’. So, now is the opportunity to start a dialogue. Chadians must come together and start such a dialogue immediately.”
On Monday, Déby was declared the winner of Chad’s April 11 election, garnering 79 percent of the vote and allowing him to be re-elected for a sixth term as president. Most opposition groups boycotted the election, citing arrests by authorities and a ban on opposition rallies.
His campaign camp said Monday that Déby was going to the front lines to fight alongside the army against what he called terrorists.
The anti-government Front for Change and Concertation in Chad, based in Libya and known by its French acronym FACT, attacked a border post on election day and then advanced hundreds of kilometers toward the capital. On Monday, the Chadian army said it had hit the anti-government forces hard, killing more than 300 militants.
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