Rebels emboldened as Chad reels from president’s death

N’DJAMENA (Reuters) – Rebel forces set their sights on Chad’s capital on Wednesday following the battlefield death of President Idriss Deby, a move that threatens to bring even more turmoil to a country vital to international efforts to combat Islamist militants in Africa.

A spokesman for the Libyan-based rebel group, known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), said their aim was to bring democracy to the country after years of authoritarian rule by Deby.

Rebel forces, who poured over the vast country’s northern border last weekend, were now in the Kanem region about 200300 km. north of N’Djamena.

In the capital N’Djamena, schools and some businesses were open on Wednesday but many people were staying home and the streets were quiet, a Reuters reporter said.

Authorities imposed a night curfew and closed land and air borders after Deby’s death was announced. A 14-day period of national mourning is being observed.

Deby, 68, died on Monday on the frontline in a battle against FACT fighters, shocking the nation and raising concerns among Western allies who had long counted on him as an ally in their fight against Islamist groups.

He had held power since 1990 and had just been announced winner of a presidential election that would have given him a sixth term in office. His son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, has been named interim president by a transitional council of military officers.

Deby, an ex-army officer who often joined soldiers on the battlefront, was visiting troops who had held up the rebel advance in intense fighting.

FACT claimed responsibility for the injuries that killed him on Monday. He was wounded by gunfire in the village of Mele near the town of Nokou, more than 300 km. north of N’Djamena, and evacuated to the capital where he later died, said a FACT spokesman who requested anonymity.

Following his death, the transitional council’s vice president, Djimadoum Tirayna, said the army wanted to return power to a civilian government and hold free and democratic elections in 18 months,

But FACT rejected the military’s plan and said they would press on with their offensive.

“Chad is not a monarchy. There can be no dynastic devolution of power in our country,” it said in a statement.

The rebels are still in the region of Kanem, the spokesman said. They were preparing to march on N’Djamena to “free the people” from a system that is undemocratic, he said, referring to the transfer of power to Deby’s son.

“We don’t want to seize power to hold power. Our objective is for democratic transitions to be a reality,” he said.

FACT was formed in 2016 by dissident military officers and is not linked to jihadist groups.

“We took up arms because there was no democratic space in Chad. A peaceful solution was not imaginable. We saw that Deby didn’t want to quit power,” the spokesman said.