SON NAMED LEADER AFTER DEBY KILLED

N'DJAMENA The son of Chad's slain leader Idriss Deby took over as president and armed forces commander on Wednesday as rebel forces threatened to march on the capital, deepening the turmoil in a country vital to international efforts to combat Islamist militants in Africa.

Gen. Mahamat Idriss Deby was named interim president by a transitional council of military officers.

The political opposition also denounced the military's takeover of control, calling the move a coup d'etat and rejecting its plan for a transition. Labour unions called for a workers' strike.

Deby, 68, was killed on Monday in a battle against fighters of the Libyan-based Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), a rebel group formed by dissident army officers.