sudden death

Chad: President Idriss Déby is killed in battle, after ruling for 30 years

This article is part of the dossier: Chad: The end of an era

By Anne-Marie Bissada
Posted on Tuesday, 20 April 2021 12:47

Chad President Idriss Deby(Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

According to a confirmation from the national army of Chad read on national television, the newly re-elected President Idriss Déby has died of wounds he received while commanding his army in battles against rebels in the north.

In a swift change of fate, after news had come in that Chad’s veteran president, Idriss Déby had won a sixth term, by 79.3%, in the latest provisional results in on Monday, an announcement broadcast on national television today has announced his death.

According to the army spokesperson, Général Azem Bemrandoua Agouna, the military had been pushed back by a column of insurgents who were advancing on the capital, N’Djamena.

Déby, was expected to give a victory speech after receiving the provisional results, but opted instead to visit Chadian soldiers on the front lines, said his campaign director Mahamat Zen Bada.

According to one report, the soldiers were attacked by militants from the Front pour l’Alternance et la Concorde au Tchad (FACT) (Front for Change and Concord in Chad) who had arrived from their base in Libya and had entered Chadian soil on 11 April. Their stated goal was to rid the country of Déby’s 31 years of power.

[ 🇹🇩 TCHAD ]

🔸Le mouvement rebelle du Front pour l'alternance et la concorde au Tchad (Fact) arrivé de sa base arrière de Libye est entré en territoire tchadien le 11 avril le jour de l'élection présidentielle avec pour objectif de chasser le président Idriss Déby. pic.twitter.com/9GbtmeXFNL

— (Little) Think Tank (@L_ThinkTank) April 18, 2021

In an interview with Radio-France Internationale, Mahamat Mahadi Ali, the rebel leader of FACT, said Déby had attended the battle on Sunday and Monday (18 and 19 April), where the fighting was taking place in the centre-west of the country, near Nokou in Kanem. Déby was reportedly wounded on the battlefield on Sunday, and was then flown to the capital 400km way by helicopter.

The article continues below

Free download

Get your free PDF: Top 200 banks 2019

The race to transform

Complete the form and download, for free, the highlights from The Africa Report’s Exclusive Ranking of Africa’s top 200 banks from last year. Get your free PDF by completing the following form

Email Address *

Title *

Last name *

First name *

Country *

Industry *

Position *

Get information from Jeune Afrique Media Group: subscription deals, special offers…

Close

By downloading this PDF you agree to subscribe to The Africa Report Daily newsletter

New head of state

For now, the constitution has been suspended. A military council will take over in the interim, under the leadership of General Mahamat Kaka, otherwise known as Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, the son of Idriss.

This temporary government should remain in place for 18 months.

His 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.

His new role as President of the Transitional Council will make the 37 year-old Mahamat the youngest head of state on the continent.

We will continue to update this as we get more information

Understand Africa's tomorrow... today

We believe that Africa is poorly represented, and badly under-estimated. Beyond the vast opportunity manifest in African markets, we highlight people who make a difference; leaders turning the tide, youth driving change, and an indefatigable business community. That is what we believe will change the continent, and that is what we report on. With hard-hitting investigations, innovative analysis and deep dives into countries and sectors, The Africa Report delivers the insight you need.

View subscription options

final act

[Exclusive] Chad: The last hours of President Idriss Déby

The death of the Chadian president was announced on 20 April. We have reconstructed here the details of the Marshal's final battle.

End of an era

Chad: The six lives of President Idriss Déby Itno

The death of the Chadian president was announced on Tuesday 20 April. Idriss Déby Itno had just been declared the winner of the election on 11 April, when he ran for a sixth term. From the desert expanses of the Ennedi, where he grew up, to those of the Libyan border, where he had forged an image of fearless warrior, he had weathered many storms. Until he met the rebel group known as FACT.

longtime coming

Chad: Mapping the rebellion that killed Idriss Déby

Killed while directing an offensive against the armed group FACT, which had entered Chad through southern Libya, the late president Idriss Déby had always known that his power was coveted by and under threat from rebel movements, many of which established rear bases in Libya or Sudan. Here we break down the groups since his rise to power.

quick facts on FACT

Chad: Six things to know about the rebel group FACT

The death of Chad’s President Idriss Déby Itno came as a surprise, given his resilience and cat-like ability to avoid near-death experiences in the past. But the group being blamed for his death is Front pour l’Alternance et la Concorde au Tchad (FACT). They are not a well-known rebel group, but they have been around. Here are some facts on FACT.

In his father’s footsteps

Chad: Who is Mahamat Idriss Déby, son of the late President Idriss Déby Itno?

As soon as the death of Chad's President Idriss Déby Itno’s was reported on 20 April, the Chadian army announced the formation of a transitional council, which will run the country for 18 months and be headed by Mahamat Idriss Déby, the son of Idriss.

SPARTA SYNDROME

Why Chad’s rebellion and Déby’s demise could tip the region into chaos

For once the funereal protestations of regional and international leaders at the violent death of a military leader are more than diplomatic posturing. That much will be clear in some desperate consultations around the funeral of Marshall Idris Déby Itno in N’Djamena on Friday.

old guard

More than a week after the death of President Idris Déby Itno, the rebels who killed the Chadian strongman are not relenting their fight as they continue to engage troops in the northern Kanem region, around 330km from Nigeria’s border communities. Experts are concerned about the growing political instability in Chad disrupting the Sahel security apparatus, with Nigeria among the hardest hit. But the Nigerian army tells The Africa Report not to worry, because it will 'fill the gap' left by the death of Déby in the regional security calculus.