Chadian Army has named General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, son of killed Chadian president, Idriss Deby, the interim Head of the State of the country.
The four-star general, otherwise known as General Mahamat Kaka, will replace his father at the head of a military council, the army announced Tuesday.
“A military council has been set up headed by his son, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno,” army’s spokesman, General Azem Bermandoa Agouna, said on state radio, shortly after the announcement of the death of the newly re-elected president.
This temporary government should remain in place for 18 months.
Late Deby’s son has been a general in the Chadian army and for many years headed the Direction Générale des Services de Sécurité des Institutions de l’État (DGSSIE) [General Directorate of Security Services for State Institutions], which includes the presidential guard.
MDB earlier reported that Deby died of wounds while fighting rebels in the north of Chad after three decades in power, the army announced on state television on Tuesday.
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The shocking announcement came after the 68-year-old was declared winner of April 19 presidential election that had given him a sixth term in office.
Deby, who came to power in a rebellion in 1990, took 79.3% of the vote in the April 11 election, which was boycotted by top opposition leaders.
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He was expected to give a victory speech to supporters, but his campaign director, Mahamat Zen Bada, said he had instead gone to visit Chadian soldiers on the front lines.
According to AFP, the army said Deby had been commanding his army at the weekend as it battled against rebels who had launched a major incursion into the north of the country on election day.
Deby ruled Chad with an iron fist for three decades but was a key ally in the West’s anti-jihadist campaign in the troubled Sahel region.
On Monday, the army had claimed a “great victory” in its battle against the rebels from neighbouring Libya, saying it had killed 300 fighters, with the loss of five soldiers in its own ranks during eight days of combat.
Deby would have been one of the longest-serving leaders in the world, after provisional results showed him winning the April 11 election.
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He was a herder’s son from Zaghawa ethnic group who took the classic path to power through the army, and relished the military culture.
His latest election victory — with almost 80 percent of the vote — had never been in doubt, with a divided opposition, boycott calls, and a campaign in which demonstrations were banned or dispersed.
Deby 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 Monday to assure concerned residents that the offensive was over.
There had been panic in some areas of N’Djamena on Monday after tanks were deployed along the city’s main roads, an AFP journalist reported.
The tanks were later withdrawn apart from a perimeter around the president’s office, which is under heavy security during normal times.
Speaking about this, government spokesman, Cherif Mahamat Zene in a statement on Monday, said;
The establishment of a security deployment in certain areas of the capital seems to have been misunderstood. There is no particular threat to fear.
However, US embassy in N’Djamena had on Saturday ordered non-essential personnel to leave the country, warning of possible violence in the capital. Britain also urged its nationals to leave.
Similarly, France’s embassy in an advisory to its nationals in Chad said the deployment was a precaution and there was no specific threat to the capital.
