Chad’s longtime leader has died of wounds suffered during a visit to frontline troops battling a little-known rebel group, the military said.
The announcement came just hours after President Idriss Deby Itno was declared the winner of an election that would have given him another six years in power.
The military quickly announced Mr Deby’s son as the central African nation’s interim leader, succeeding his 68-year-old father, who ruled for more than three decades.
Some observers immediately questioned the chain of events leading up to Tuesday’s stunning announcement on national radio and television.
Chad army spokesman General Azem Bermandoa Agouna announces the death of Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno on state television (Tele Tchad via AP)
Chad s President Idriss Deby killed in frontline clashes with rebels, source says cnn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cnn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Last updated: 20/04 - 20:09
President Idriss Déby Itno, who had just been elected for a sixth term, died of his wounds while commanding his army against the FACT rebels. In N djamena, after the death of Idriss Déby Itno, a transitional military council led by Mahamat Déby took power.
Confident and reassuring were the watchwords of President Idriss Déby Itno on 11 April in Chad, except that during this presidential election, the rebels of FACT, the Front for Change and Concord in Chad, were conducting offensives in the north of the country in the province of Kanem, more than 300 km from the capital N djamena. Worried, Idriss Déby decided to invite himself to the front line, as our Africanews special correspondent