Chad’s former colonial ruler, France, yesterday, defended the military take over following the death of President Idriss Deby, saying it was necessary for security amid ‘exceptional circumstances’.
French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said the military was justified in its actions as the speaker of parliament had declined to take charge.
“Logically, it should be (Speaker Haroun) Kabadi, but he refused because of the exceptional security reasons that were needed to ensure the stability of this country,” Le Drian told France 2 television.
Deby, although criticised by human rights groups for his repressive rule over three decades, was a lynchpin in France’s security strategy in Africa. About 5,100 French troops are based across the region as part of international operations to fight Islamist militants and France has its main base in N’Djamena. Dissent within the military has raised concerns about stability in Chad.
Deby, 68, was killed on Monday on the frontline against fighters of the Front for Change and Concord in Chad, a group formed by dissident army officers in 2016 which says it is pro-democracy.
The group warned foreign leaders invited to Deby’s funeral today not to attend for their security. The presidents of Guinea and Mali arrived in the capital N’Djamena, state television showed, despite warnings from the rebels. French President, Emmanuel Macron, was also due to travel to Chad overnight for the funeral today.
Another 10 African presidents and prime ministers, including Guinea’s Alpha Conde, Mali’s Bah Ndaw and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Felix Tshisekedi were due to arrive as at press time for the funeral, the government said.
A military council, led by General Mahamat Idriss Deby, took power after his father was killed in battle with the rebels on Monday. General Deby, 37, has said the army will hold democratic elections in 18 months, but opposition leaders have condemned his takeover as a coup d’etat and an army general said many officers were opposed to the transition plan.
“Kaka (Mahamat Deby) only has partial support of the army. He is young and, unlike his father, has never been a rebel,” said Jerome Tubiana, an analyst specialising on Chad.
“Within the army, there’s indeed (at least) two groups.”
The Libya-based rebels, who are not linked to the Islamists, said on Wednesday they would end a brief ceasefire at midnight and were about 200-300 km (125-190 miles) from the capital.
Neighbouring Nigeria reinforced security along its border to avoid a potential influx of Chadians refugees, its defence minister said. Central African Republic’s army said it was on maximum alert to prevent armed groups from crossing the border.