Chad's President Idriss Déby, who was one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, died on April 20, 2021 due to the injuries he sustained following clashes with rebels in the north of the country over the weekend. He was 68.
The spokesman of the Chadian army, Gen. Azem Bermandoa Agouna said in a televised statement that the "Supreme Chief of the Armed Forces, Idriss Deby Itno has just given his last breath while defending the territorial integrity on the battlefield." He continued by saying that "it is with deep bitterness that we announce to the Chadian people the death, this Tuesday, April 20, 2021, of Marshal of Chad as a result of his injuries to the forehead."
The announcement came a day after provisional election results declared Déby as the winner of the Presidential Elections conducted on April 11th. This would have been his sixth term in office. Idriss Déby had spent more than three decades in power in Chad. Following his death, the government and parliament were dissolved and a curfew has been imposed and the borders have been shut.
How did Idriss Deby die?•There were many questions surrounding Déby’s death such how he was killed and why did he visit the area where conflict was going on. •Though the circumstances of his death are not very clear, the army informed that he had gone to the front line, many kilometers north of Chad's capital city N'Djamena, during the weekend to visit troops battling rebels belonging to a group called Fact (the Front for Change and Concord in Chad). •According to military generals, Deby sustained wounds while fighting rebels trying to overthrow his government. His death was announced on April 20th. •The state funeral is slated to take place today, on April 23rd in N'Djamena's main square, La Place de la Nation. French President Emmanuel Macron, Guinean President Alpha Conde and several other African heads of state arrived in N'Djamena for the funeral. |
Who will govern Chad now?
•Late President Idriss Déby's son, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno was named transitional leader. The 37-year-old is a four-star general.
•He will be leading a military council that will be governing the nation for the next 18 months. The council will comprise 14 other generals who will make up the new governing body.
•The army said in a statement that free and democratic elections will be held once the transition period is over.
Who are FACT Rebels? |
| •Fighters of the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) is a rebel group led by long-time rebel Mahamat Mahadi Ali. •Mahamat Mahadi Ali had reportedly joined the rebel movement in 1978 at the age of 14 years, essentially as a child rebel soldier. •He has since then joined rebellions against different successive regimes in Chad. •He was part of the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD), whose leader Mahamat Nouri led the rebel alliance which almost toppled Deby in 2008. •The FACT rebels had crossed over into northern Chad from Libya on April 11th when Chad President Idriss Deby sought a sixth term in Presidential Election polls boycotted by main opposition parties. •The sole agenda of the rebel group has been to topple Deby's government. It said in a statement after the announcement of Deby’s death, "Chad is not a monarchy." •The rebels added saying that there can be no dynastic devolution of power in the country and threatened to depose the new leader. •The group has vowed to pursue its offensive after a pause for Deby's funeral. |
About Idriss Deby
•The 68-year-old had first come to power in 1990 through an armed rebellion and thereafter, he had remained in power for more than three decades till his death. He was one of Africa’s longest-ruling leaders.
•An army officer by training, Idriss Deby was known as a true warrior president. He was a long-term ally of France and the United States in the battle against Islamic radicalism in Sahel region of Africa.
•He had held on to power in Chad for more than 30 years. His latest election victory saw him claim almost 80 percent of the vote, paving way for another six-year term.
•He had been on many occasions also accused for human rights violations and for the repression of his political opponents.
•His death leaves a huge vacuum in Chad and it is unclear if the poor and feuding nation will be able to manage a smooth transition.
About Chad |
| •Chad is a landlocked country in north-central Africa, bordered by Libya to the north, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the south-west, Nigeria to the southwest, Sudan to the east and Niger to the west. •The nation is named after Lake Chad, which is the second-largest wetland in Africa. The nation has a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanian Savanna zone in the south. •The capital of the country is N'Djamena, which is its largest city. The official languages of the country are Arabic and French. |
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