N’DJAMENA – Chadian President Idriss Deby has died while visiting troops on the front lines of a fight against northern rebels, an army spokesman said on Tuesday, the day after Deby was declared the winner of the presidential election.
Deby’s son, Mahamat Kaka, has been named interim chairman by a transitional council of military officers, spokesman Azem Bermendao Agouna said on a state television show.
Deby, 68, came to power in a rebellion in 1990 and was one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders. He and his army were seen as a reliable Western ally in a turbulent region affected by jihadists.
His campaign said Monday it was joining troops fighting what he called terrorists after rebels based across Libya’s northern border advanced hundreds of miles south to Chad’s capital, N’Djamena.
The cause of his death was not yet clear.
“A call for dialogue and peace is being launched for all Chadians in the country and abroad to continue to build Chad together,” Bermendao said on television, surrounded by several officers.
“The Transitional National Council assures the people of Chad that all measures have been taken to ensure peace, security and republican order,” he said.
Deby, whose opponents have accused him of repressive rule, pushed through a new constitution in 2018 that would have allowed him to remain in power until 2033 – even if he restored his term.
He took the title of “Marshal” last year and said before last week’s election: “I know in advance that I will win, as I have done for the last 30 years.”
Deby also addressed public dissatisfaction with Chad’s oil wealth management and crackdown on opponents.
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However, in the election results announced on Monday, he was credited with 79% of the vote, giving him his sixth term. Several opposition leaders boycotted the poll.
Western countries have seen Deby as an ally in the fight against Islamist extremist groups, including Boko Haram in the Lake Chad basin and groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Sahel.
His death is a blow to France, which had based its counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena.
Chad announced in February the deployment of 1,200 troops to complement 5,100 French troops in the area.
France, the former colonial power, has not yet officially reacted.