April 20, 2021
Chad s President Idriss Deby
N DJAMENA Chad s long-serving President Idriss Deby has died from injuries suffered on the frontline, an African diplomatic source said on Tuesday.
It comes following attacks in the north of the country by rebels.
Rebels of the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (Front Pour l Alternance et La Concorde au Tchad) (FACT) reported in a statement on Monday that Deby was injured and on the run.
The news of Deby s death comes a day after provisional results from the election on April 11 projected he would win a sixth term in office, with 80 percent of the vote.
Chad’s President Idriss Deby, who ruled his country for more than 30 years and was an important Western ally in the fight against Islamist militants in Africa, has been killed on the frontline against rebels in the north.
Deby’s son, Mahamat Kaka, was named interim president by a transitional council of military officers, spokesman Azem Bermendao Agouna said in a broadcast on state television.
Deby, 68, came to power in a rebellion in 1990 and was one of Africa’s longest-ruling leaders, surviving numerous coup attempts and rebellions.
His death was announced the day after he was declared the winner of a presidential election that would have given him a sixth term in office. Most of the opposition, which had long complained of his repressive rule, boycotted the vote.
Chad’s newly re-elected President Idriss Deby has died of injuries suffered on the frontline while fighting rebels in the north of the Sahel country.
The country s army spokesperson, General Azem Bermandoa Agouna made the announcement hours after electoral officials declared 68-year-old Deby as winner of the April 11 presidential election, paving the way for him to stay in power for six more years after a 30-year rule.
Deby had postponed his victory speech to supporters and instead went to visit Chadian soldiers battling rebels, according to his campaign manager. The rebel group Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), which is based across the northern frontier with Libya had attacked a border post on election day and then advanced hundreds of kilometres south.
In this file photo, Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno addresses a session of the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters. AP
Chad s President Idriss Deby, who ruled his country for more than 30 years and was an important Western ally in the fight against Islamist militants in Africa, has been killed on the frontline in a battle against rebels in the north.
His son, Mahamat Kaka, was named interim president by a transitional council of military officers, army spokesman Azem Bermendao Agouna said on state television.
Deby, 68, came to power in a rebellion in 1990 and was one of Africa s longest-ruling leaders, surviving numerous coup attempts and rebellions.