Yamena, Chad
the president of Chad, Idriss Déby, died last night after being injured in fighting against Chadian rebels from Libya, the spokesman for his party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement (MSP), confirmed to Efe today.
“President Idriss Déby Itno had personally attended the combat. That’s how he was wounded on Saturday by a bullet. He was taken to the French military hospital (in N’Djamena, the capital), where he died on Monday night, “MSP spokesman Jean-Bernard Padare told Efe.
Déby, who ruled Chad for 30 years, he died on the same day he was proclaimed the winner, with 79.32% of the vote, of the presidential elections held on 11 April.
The election day took place calmly, but on the same day Chadian rebels from the Front for Alternation and Concord in Chad (FACT, in its abbreviations in French) realized a raid in national territory with the intention to overthrow to Déby.
Deby, president of Chad since 1990, which will be buried next Friday in a solemn ceremony with military honors, he sought in the elections his sixth term against six other candidates, who had virtually no chance of victory.
“As he does every time Republican institutions are seriously threatened, he put himself at the forefront in heroic battles against terrorist hordes from Libya,” Army spokesman General Azem said on state television today. Bermandoa Agouna.
Information from Chad have been confused in recent days, while the FACT said on April 13 that it controlled the province of Tibesti, in the far north of the country, and on 18, that of Kanem, in the west, the Army has denied it.
Last Sunday, the Chadian Army claimed to have killed more than 300 FACT rebels and detained more than 150 in Kanem province.
But FACT’s political coordinator and communications manager, Kingabé Ogouzeimi of Tapol, told Efe that while “the fighting was certainly tough,” the damage was “huge on both sides” and had not lost to 300 fighters.
Likewise, the FACT has indicated in a statement on Monday night that, since Sunday, they were heading towards N’Djamena and alluded to “hundreds of corpses, wounded and prisoners” among members of the Chadian Army.
In the same statement, he announced that at least 15 senior officers had died, were missing or injured and on the run, with Déby’s name on the list indicating he was injured and fled.
This advance of the FACT has reminded many Chadians of the events that took place between February 2 and 4, 2008, when a rebel coalition was about to overthrow the country’s president.
After announcing the death of Déby, The Army reported the establishment of a Transitional Military Council (CMT) to “ensure the defense of our country in this situation of war against terrorism and the forces of evil in order to ensure the continuity of the ‘State’.
The CMT will be chaired by the victim’s son, General Mahamat Idriss Déby, 37, who thus becomes the youngest head of state in Africa.
“FIGHT TO THE BREATH”
The Army has declared that the CMT will be the authority of Chad for 18 months, after which “free, democratic and transparent elections will be held in the spirit of sacrifice by which the Marshal of Chad (Idris Déby) He fought all his life to his last breath. “
In addition, the military authorities have dissolved the Constitution, the Government and the Parliament and declared a 14-day national duel, a curfew from 18.00 local time (17.00 GMT) to 05.00 (04.0 GMT) throughout the country, and the closure – until further notice – of land and air borders.
The Constitution stipulates that, in the event of the death of the head of state, the president of the National Assembly (Parliament) must assume power, so that elections are called between 45 and 90 days, so that the decision taken by the Army was branded unconstitutional by several analysts.
However, the Army spokesman assured the Chadian people that “all measures have been taken to ensure peace, security and republican order”; and called for “dialogue and peace” to “build together Chad“.
The French presidency reacted quickly to the death of France Déby, Who had become the great indispensable ally of France and the West in the Sahel, especially in the fight against jihadism.
“Chad is losing a great soldier and a president who worked tirelessly for the security of the country and the stability of the region for three decades. France is losing a brave friend,” the French presidency said in a statement.
In addition, France urged a peaceful transition to Chad and highlighted France ‘s “strong commitment” to the “stability and territorial integrity of Chad“.
Numerous African leaders, including the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Senegal, Madagascar, Burkina Faso and Cameroon, have also lamented Déby’s death in combat and recalled that he was fulfilling his duty as supreme commander of the Army.
“The disappearance of Marshal Idriss Déby Itno is an immense loss for Chad, Central Africa and our continent, which it has served relentlessly,” Cameroonian President Paul Biya stressed. EFE