Rebels in Chad have threatened to depose the son of slain President Idris Deby after he was named interim leader of the nation.
It was not certain how close the rebel column was to N’Djamena, the capital city or whether the military would remain loyal to Mahamat Idriss Deby following his father’s death after three decades in power.
The rebel group that the military blamed for President Deby’s killing said late Tuesday that its forces were “heading toward N´Djamena at this very moment. Chad is not a monarchy,” said a statement from the group known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad.
“There can be no dynastic devolution of power in our country.”
The group’s claim of advancing on the capital could not be independently verified, but it immediately created panic in N´Djamena, which another rebel group attacked back in 2008 before being repelled by government forces.
The opposition and workers have rejected the transition too. Déby’s rivals, including the country’s biggest workers’ union the UST say the military takeover is the main problem. They say they want dialogue and an immediate return to civilian rule.
“We must follow the constitution, invite the African Union and the UN to help solve our problems,” main opposition figure, Saleh Kebzabo, whose UNDR party boycotted the recent election, told the BBC.
Transformers of Chad Party’s Succès Masra, who was prevented from standing in the polls as he was too young, said Chadians wanted a leader chosen democratically.
“This is a coup d’etat somehow and is not acceptable for the people of Chad,” he told BBC Focus on Africa radio.