The exact circumstances of his death are not yet clear, but Deby appears to have been shot on April 17 while his troops were fighting a rebel group in the desert of the capital N’djamena.
A military statement said he “took control of operations during the heroic fight against Libyan terrorists. He was wounded during the fighting and died once repatriated to N’Djamena.”
The rebels say Deby was moved back to the capital. A well-placed intelligence source told CNN that Deby was wounded after plans to negotiate with rebel leaders in the north quickly collapsed in fierce fighting that “left four of his generals dead.” .
The intelligence source, specializing in Libya, cited a source from the rebel faction who had been informed of the incident.
CNN cannot confirm this claim, but the two sides denounced strong clashes around the city of Mao, in the Kanem region, that day, about 185 kilometers north of the capital.
The rebels, the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), had entered Chad from southern Libya the previous week and had already seized much of the Tibesti region. They had declared their intention to leave for the capital.
Perhaps it was no surprise that Deby was on the front lines of battle. Before taking power, he received military training in France and was the main military adviser to his predecessor, Hissene Habre, whom he overthrew in 1990.
Just last year he went to the front line around Lake Chad while the army was fighting the terrorist group Boko Haram. Deby was mostly a military man.
In 2006, when Chad was invaded by refugees fleeing the Darfur conflict in Sudan, Deby told CNN’s Nic Robertson: “I am the only president who says we must impose war to bring peace. “It was done in Bosnia. Why not in Darfur? If necessary, we will bring peace by force.”
When Deby traveled north over the weekend, he had just won a sixth term in office, in an election boycotted by much of the opposition, to extend his 30 years in power.
N’Djamena’s accounts since her death were announced on Tuesday describing the atmosphere as somber and anxious, with many shops closed.
Most Chadians have known no other leader. Before this year’s election, Deby said, “I know in advance that I will win, as I have done for the past 30 years.”
The fight against jihad
Deby’s death deprives France – the former colonial power – of one of its most reliable allies in Africa, and a cornerstone in the fight against the spread of Islamist terrorist groups in the Sahel.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s office paid tribute to him on Tuesday by saying France had lost a “brave friend.” Macron will also attend Deby’s funeral on Friday, according to the French government.
But his death also inaugurates uncertain times for the country itself.
The French army has about 5,000 troops fighting al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and other terrorist groups in the Sahel region, in the so-called Barkhane operation.
Chad has been its main ally in the long-standing conflict in Mali and has been at the forefront of the conflict with Boko Haram around Lake Chad, which borders northern Nigeria.
Chad has borders with six countries, including the Central African Republic, Niger and Sudan.
It is a volatile neighborhood and raids on Chad from beyond its borders are frequent. Some analysts believe the Chadian army is overly extensive with its regional role and facing frequent riots at home.
The transitional military council that will now lead the country is headed by Deby’s son, Mahammat Kaka, who is already a general at 37 years old.
According to a biography published by the council, he has been a militant since adolescence and has seen service in northern Chad. On Wednesday, young Deby signed a statement naming the fifteen board members, all military figures,
According to a letter released on Wednesday, the transitional council will lead Chad for 18 months, but that can be extended.
The letter replaces Chad’s constitution, according to which the president of the National Assembly should have become interim president. Young Deby has promised “free, democratic and transparent elections”.
France has been quick to push for support for the transition, and said in a statement on Tuesday that it “expresses its strong commitment to the stability and territorial integrity of Chad.”
The United States took a different approach, saying it supported “a peaceful transition of power in accordance with the Chadian constitution,” according to the State Department spokesman’s Twitter account.
A mountain of challenges
It is questionable whether Déby, the youngest, has the political skills to manage Chad’s numerous rival, ethnic and military constituencies.
His father faced several rebellions during his three decades in power, often with the help of France.
On at least two occasions, rebel forces reached the capital. In February 2019, French planes took part in a different rebel group – led by Deby’s own nephew – that entered Chad from Libya, France’s first intervention since 2008.
Some commentators believe that French military support for Déby became almost unconditional.
Chadian vigilante Marielle Debos wrote in 2019 that French attacks on Chadian rebels were a “sign that France now supports Deby at all costs ignoring the regime’s authoritarian practices and human rights violations.”
The younger Déby faces a mountain of challenges. Four years ago, the U.S. Peace Institute warned that whoever succeeded his father, “whether democratically or not, must prioritize not only the loyalty of the security forces, but also their ability to ‘intervening in difficult theaters’.
Added to this is an economy affected by depressed oil prices and rebel movements that have been fueled by the death of his father.