New details about President Kaka s break with the US have emerged as the election exposes some of the political manoeuvring within the elite, The campaigning which culminated in national elections on 6 May proved livelier than expected. Yet nobody doubts that President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno Kaka will win, probably with over 50%, removing the need for a second round on 22 June. The aftermath is likely to prove the much greater challenge than the prelude as he attempts to juggle east and west in his international relations.
A letter to Washington has put relations in the cooler, as overtures to the Kremlin increase and the president ponders a change of allegiance, On 4 April the Chadian government threatened to cancel the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States, the law that regulates the conditions under which the 100 or so US soldiers, mainly Special Forces, operate in the country. Coming so soon after the Niger military junta s breach with the US – which also centred on the SOFA – the letter underlines the fragility of the US position in the Sahel.
A letter to Washington has put relations in the cooler, as overtures to the Kremlin increase and the president ponders a change of allegiance, On 4 April the Chadian government threatened to cancel the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States, the law that regulates the conditions under which the 100 or so US soldiers, mainly Special Forces, operate in the country. Coming so soon after the Niger military junta s breach with the US – which also centred on the SOFA – the letter underlines the fragility of the US position in the Sahel.
Warring generals Burhan and Hemeti are going into a battle that could end in a Libya-style national schism, After the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took over the cities of Nyala, Zalingei, El Geneina, and El Daein over a month ago, they set the stage for a battle for El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur state. If they prevail there against the Sudan Armed Forces and allies, RSF Commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Hemeti can claim to control all of the giant region (about the size of Spain).
The president s latest army reshuffle is part of a long-term plan to safeguard his regime and his family s role in it, The army reshuffle in Rwanda, announced on 31 August, was not a panicked response to the military coup in Gabon on the previous day as some have suggested. President Paul Kagame frequently circulates his top brass to ensure no military commander builds up a faction of supporters who might challenge his hold on power. This has been a three decades-long strategy. Unlike the military reshuffle in Cameroon on 31 August, there s no sign that Kagame s moves were triggered by General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema s putsch in Libreville.