CHAD PRESIDENT KILLED IN A CLASH AFTER WINNING REELECTION

Idriss Deby Itno, who had just won re-election as president of Chad, is dead after fighting with rebel forces, military spokesperson Azem Bermandoa Agouna said, April 21, 2021, Geoffroy Touroumbaye reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

"The president of the republic, head of state, supreme chief of the armed forces, Idriss Deby Itno, has just taken his last breath on the battlefield in defense of territorial integrity," Agouna said. The circumstances of his death were not immediately released.

Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, the son of the late president and a four-star general, is to lead an 18-month transitional military government, Agouna said. The government and the National Assembly have been dissolved. Instead of the current constitution, a national transitional charter will be announced shortly.

Déby, who ruled Chad with an iron fist for three decades, was considered by the West to be crucial in the fight against Islamic extremist groups like Boko Haram in Central Africa, enjoying the support of France and the US despite accusations of human rights violations, the New York Times also reported.

Many questions surrounded Déby’s death, including how exactly he was killed and what he was doing visiting an area where conflict was raging if indeed he was. Mr. Déby’s son, Mahamat Idriss Déby, will take over as the head of a new military council that will rule for 18 months before new elections are held, a spokesman said.

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