Chadian military names Deby’s son-Mahamat, New President

The Chadian army has said a military council led by the late president’s 37-year-old son General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, a four-star general, would replace him and take over as the new leader of the country.

Upon his take over, General Mahamat dissolved the government and the national assembly.

President Deby died of injuries suffered on the frontline in the Sahel country’s north, where he had gone to visit soldiers battling rebels, an army spokesman said on Tuesday. He said Deby, 68, breathed his last defending the sovereign nation on the battlefield over the weekend.

The shock announcement came a day after Deby, who came to power in a rebellion in 1990, won a sixth term, as per provisional results released on Monday. Deby took 79.3 percent of the vote in the April 11 presidential election, the results showed.

Deby postponed his victory speech to supporters and instead went to visit Chadian soldiers battling rebels, according to his campaign manager.

The rebel group Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), which is based across the northern frontier with Libya, attacked a border post in the provinces of Tibesti and Kanem on election day and then advanced hundreds of kilometres south. But it suffered a setback over the weekend.

Chad’s military spokesman Agouna told the Reuters news agency that army troops killed more than 300 fighters and captured 150 on Saturday in Kanem province, around 300 kilometres (185 miles) from the capital Ndjamena.

“Five government soldiers were killed and 36 were injured,” he said.

Deby was a herder’s son from the Zaghawa ethnic group who took the classic path to power through the army, and relished the military culture

His latest election victory had never been in doubt, with a divided opposition, boycott calls, and a campaign in which demonstrations were banned or dispersed.

Deby had campaigned on a promise of bringing peace and security to the region, but his pledges were undermined by the rebel incursion.

The government had sought on Monday to assure concerned residents that the offensive was over.

Suzan O/AFN