The death of Chad’s President Idriss Dèby has inevitably alarmed foreign and national security policymakers in Nigeria, the West African region and as far as France.
A transitional military council headed by Dèby’s son, Mahamat Dèby, has since taken over the reins of power.
Dèby had been in power since 1990 and had recently declared victory in elections that gave him his sixth term in office. The official result said he had garnered nearly 80% of the vote. The poll was boycotted by the opposition, and fell short of qualifying as a free and fair election.