N’Djamena, Chad – Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, who has led the Central African nation for more than three decades, was killed on the battlefield on Tuesday in a fight against the rebels, the army announced on national television and radio. The military said a transitional council would be headed by Deby’s son, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.
MARCO LONGARI / AFP / Getty
The startling announcement came just hours after election officials declared Deby the winner of the April 11 presidential election, paving the way for him to remain in power for another six years.
The circumstances of Deby’s death could not be immediately confirmed independently due to the remote location of the battlefield. It was not known why the president visited the northern Chadian fronts or took part in ongoing clashes with rebels who opposed his leadership.
Deby, a former army commander-in-chief, first came to power in 1990 when his rebel forces overthrew then-president Hissene Habre. who was later convicted of human rights violations at an international tribunal in Senegal.
Over the years, Deby survived numerous armed rebellions and managed to stay in power until this latest insurgency led by a group called the Chad of Change and Concord in Chad.
The rebels are believed to have armed and trained in neighboring Libya before crossing into northern Chad on April 11. Their arrival came on the same day that the President of Chad sought a sixth term on election day, which was boycotted by several top opposition candidates.
Deby’s regime has been fighting persistent insurgencies for years, and opposition parities have boycotted previous elections. Its state security forces have been accused by the international rights group Amnesty International of carrying out “a regime of murder, torture and enforced disappearance of alleged opponents of the government”.