Chad’s President Idriss Déby dies of injuries following ‘clashes with rebels’

Chad’s President Idriss Déby has died of his injuries following clashes with rebels in the north of the country at the weekend, the army has said. The announcement came a day after provisional election results projected he would win a sixth term in office. In response, the government and parliament have been dissolved, a curfew imposed and borders have been shut.

Déby, 68, had spent more than three decades in power and was one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders. Originally an army officer by training, he rose to power in 1990 through an armed uprising. He was a long-time ally of France and other Western powers in the battle against jihadist groups in the Sahel region of Africa.

Mr Déby had gone to the front line, several hundred kilometres north of the capital N’Djamena, at the weekend to visit troops battling rebels calling themselves the Front for Change and Concord in Chad, Fact for short. The group, founded in 2016 by disillusioned former army officers, accuses President Déby of repression in the run-up to the election.

While at the N’Djamena base, clashes on Saturday resulted in the death of 300 insurgents while 150 were captured. Five government soldiers were killed and 36 more injured. Among these was Mr Déby, who appears to have passed away due to the injuries he sustained.

The military council will now be led by Mr Déby’s son, a 37-year-old four-star general, who will govern for the next 18 months. Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno will lead the council but “free and democratic” elections will be held once the transition period is over, the army has said in its statement.