Chad’s President Idriss Deby loses his life after sustaining injuries during a clash with rebels in the north of the country last weekend.
An army general had announced the unexpected news on state television about the demise of the president who had gone to the frontline at the weekend to visit troops battling rebels based across the border in Libya
The deceased president was about going in for the 6th term in office as provisional results from the general elections released on Monday, 11 April had him leading with 80% of the entire votes cast
The government and parliament have been dissolved. A military council will govern for the next 18 months led by the late president’s son, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, 37, a four-star general.
Holding the office of the presidency for over 30 years, Idriss Deby came to power in an armed uprising in 1990.
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The rebels, from a group calling itself Fact (the Front for Change and Concord in Chad), attacked a border post on Election Day. They were advancing on the capital, N’Djamena, several hundred kilometres to the south
About 300 insurgents were killed and 150 captured during the clash which began on Saturday as reported by an army general to Reuters news agency. Five government soldiers were killed and 36 injured, he added. The figures could not be immediately verified
Mr. Deby was a long-time ally of France and other Western powers in the battle against jihadist groups in the Sahel region of Africa. However, there has been growing unhappiness over his government’s management of Chad’s oil resources
He is remembered for his campaign for peace and security in the region during the elections.
Source: Jean Aryee | Hbtvghana.com