N’Djamena, Chad The president of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno, who has ruled the Central African nation for more than three decades, died on the battlefield in a fight against rebels on Tuesday, the army announced on national television and radio. The army said a transitional council would be led by Deby’s son Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.
MARCO LONGARI / AFP / Getty
The incredible announcement came hours after election officials declared Deby the winner of the April 11 presidential election, paving the way for another six years in power.
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 would have visited the front lines in northern Chad or participated in the ongoing clashes with the rebels who opposed his government.
Deby, a former commander-in-chief of the army, 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 has survived numerous armed rebellions and managed to stay in power until this latest uprising led by a group calling themselves the Front for Change and Concord in Chad.
The rebels in neighboring Libya are believed to have armed and trained before moving to 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 boycotted several top opposition candidates.
Deby’s regime has been fighting persistent insurgency for years, and opposition parities have boycotted previous elections. Its state security forces are accused by the international rights group Amnesty International of carrying out “a regime of murder, torture and forced disappearance of suspected government opponents”.