Army spokesman Azem Bermendao Agouna said Deby – a longtime Western ally – had died “as a result of his frontline injuries.”
Rebels, who have wanted to oust Deby since 2016, have claimed a number of victories over the past week and clashes were reported in the north of the country over the weekend.
Rebels of the Front for Change and Concord in Chad – known in French as Front Pour l’Alternance et La Concorde au Tchad (FACT) – said on Friday that they had raided a military garrison in Gouri. The claim was denied by the government, which had earlier said the rebels had been defeated.
FACT said Monday that Deby was injured and struck on the run.
“True to the oath taken by the people and the Chadian people, the Marshal of Chad, President of the Republic, Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Idriss Déby Itno, has just taken his last breath to defend the sovereign nation on the “It is with deep bitterness that we announce the Chadian people to the Chadian Marshal Idriss Déby Itno on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, due to his injuries on the front line,” he said.
Agouna said a transitional military council would oversee the defense of our precious country facing this war on terror and evil forces for 18 months.
According to Agouna, Deby’s son, General Mahamat Kaka, will serve as president of the transitional council.
He promised that there would be “free, democratic and transparent elections following the spirit of sacrifice for which the Marshal fought throughout his life.”
The military declared a period of 14 days of national mourning and set a night watch. Air borders will close until further notice.
The announcement comes a day after preliminary results suggested Deby, who has been in power for 30 years, had won a sixth consecutive term.
Chad is working closely with Nigeria and Cameroon in the fight against the militant group Boko Haram and is part of a joint task force fighting insurgency in the region.
Chad borders Libya, the Darfur region in Sudan, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic and there are fears that Deby’s death threatens the stability of the region. FACT claims he is in charge of the Tibesti region of Chad, which borders Libya.
Mohammed Yahaya, the residents’ representative to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Nigeria, told CNN: “The worst case scenario is a disintegration in Libya in a very insecure and conflict-ridden region. Chad under President Deby’s leadership “There is a lot of pressure on Boko Haram in the region. If there is a disintegration, an increase in the flow of weapons and a courageous Boko Haram can take place, it should affect any policy maker and security actors in Nigeria.”
Yahaya said President Deby had played a key role for the international community as a “security anchor” in the region and their first thoughts would be on how to ensure an “orderly transition” in the country to prevent further instability.
“Deby was someone the international community relied on to bring security. He also contributed troops to Mali during the uprising there, and my concern, as I heard the news, is ‘what’s next?’ and how can the international community secure and support the country through this difficult transition, ‘he said.