Emmanuel Macron, flanked by the son of the late Chadian president arrives at the state funeral
Emmanuel Macron touched down in Chad on Friday to pay his respects to one of France’s indispensable African strongman, a warrior king allegedly killed on the battlefield in a murder mystery troubling Western leaders.
President Idriss Déby Itno was killed suddenly as he visited his troops facing down a heavily armed Russian-trained rebel force that had made a blitzkrieg dash across the Sahara to capture Chad’s capital, N’djamena.
The facts around the dictator’s death are murky and conspiracy theories abound. The official Chadian version of events says Mr Déby was a martyr; the Field Marshall was shot in the chest after shouting at his men to drive him to the frontline to face down a column of terrorists.
UPDATE 1-With eye on Islamist fight, France backs Chad military takeover Reuters 4 hrs ago
(Recast, new throughout)
By John Irish and Tangi Salaün
PARIS, April 22 (Reuters) - France defended the Chadian army s takeover of power on Thursday after the battlefield death of President Idriss Deby presented Paris with an uncomfortable choice - back an unconstitutional military leader or risk undermining its fight against Islamists.
While the opaque political and business ties that once bound France to its ex-colonies in Africa have frayed over the last decade, interests remain closely intertwined and under Deby s rule Chad was a key ally in combatting Islamists in the Sahel.
Where Did Chad Rebels Prepare for Their Own War? In Libya.
Fighting as mercenaries for years, the rebels were ready to pull off their own stunning feat: an invasion that resulted in the death of Chad’s strongman ruler.
President Idriss Deby at a campaign rally in April. Mr. Déby was killed on the day he won his sixth electionCredit.Joel Kouam/EPA, via Shutterstock
April 22, 2021Updated 3:35 a.m. ET
NAIROBI, Kenya The rebels pulled off a stunning feat. Barely a week after their armed convoy roared across the desert into northern Chad, they kicked off a battle that on Monday claimed the biggest scalp of all: Idriss Déby, Chad’s iron-fisted president of three decades, killed on the battlefield when a shell exploded near his vehicle, according to a senior aide.
The death of Idriss Deby, president of Chad for more than 30 years, leaves some observers concerned about what will happen in the country which is an ally of France and the United States.