Three months ago, at the end of the morning on April 20, the Chadians learned on national radio and television of the death of the head of state, Idriss Déby, who had been in power for thirty years, and the establishment of a military council. one of his sons, responsible for an 18-month transfer. What do we know today about the circumstances of his disappearance?
On the evening of Monday 19 April, a crowd of MPS supporters gathered at the Place de la Nation in Ndjamena. They gather to celebrate re-elected by Idriss Déby at the head of the country. The Electoral Commission grants 79.32% of the votes to the person who became Marshal of Chad the year before. But contrary to what has been announced, the winner will not speak for his followers. In the past, tanks were placed around the presidency, which puzzled journalists. In circles close to power, the rumor spreads: Idriss Déby died in battle.
Two days earlier, on Saturday, April 17, just back from a trip abroad, he had made his way north to Kanem province. In fact, for a week, the front lines of facts (Front for Alternation and Concord in Chad), parts of Libya, have emerged south. Despite the help of the French intelligence service and the air flows that would deter them from continuing their journey, here they are close to Mao, about 300 kilometers from the capital.
Evacuated by helicopter to Ndjamena
Warlord is described as “brave, but sometimes angry” by several of his advisers; he takes on the role he loves as a marshal who leads his troops to the front. After a beehive, he arrived at the scene the next day, Sunday 18 April. His men are fighting a bitter battle with the rebels near Nokou. His column tries to get as close to the front line as possible. According to a witness, she was stopped by firearms against the leading vehicles. Idriss Déby is hit by himself, in the head or in the trunk, depending on the version. We evacuate it backwards, the time when a helicopter arrives from Ndjamena and leaves it lifeless towards the capital. On the night of Sunday 18 to Monday 19, the plane landed in the presidency enclosure with the president’s lifeless body on board.
Monday 19 will give rise to negotiations to form the Transitional Military Council. In the evening, therefore, the election commission announces the re-election of “Marshal”. The rebels, at the end of the evening, spread a list of leading army officers at the same time: there is “Colonel Idriss Déby Itno”.
Next morning surprised: surrounded by members of the CMT announces the army spokesman, General Azem Bermandoa Agouna, Idriss Déby’s death and the repeal of the constitution.
Alternative dissertation
In the following days, an alternative dissertation circulates massively on social networks: Idriss Déby would have been murdered by one of his comrades. He would fall victim to a points solution within his clan, Zaghawas, a very small minority in Chad, but overrepresented in security circles. We’re talking about a meeting that would have gone wrong. A member of Yaya Dillo’s family is said to have avenged the opponent. The attack on his home on February 27, in which his mother was killed, would have deepened an existing fracture between “zags”. From April 30, back to Ndjamena, Yaya Dillo will receive RFI and denies the theory of family revengerequires forgiveness and dialogue. Understand first within the clan. He is sure that the former president is really dead in action, and that all other versions are “false information”. Since then, no information has come to support the assassination attempt.
There are still questions about the details on Sunday, April 18, including whether the facts knew it was aimed at Idriss Déby and how information about his presence would have reached the rebels.
In any case, Idriss Déby’s death made us forget the result of 17 and 18 April: the fact’s defeat against elite Cadet units, after costly battles on both sides. With more than a thousand men, the rebels had so far been able to advance without hindrance, with an arsenal built in Libya according to the war prices and the training provided by Russian instructors attached to Marshal Haftar’s camp.
What happened to the facts?
As a result of these fights, the rebel columns have spread, recaptures Libya and passes for some of Niger, causing some tension between Ndjamena and Niamey. How many men have facts today? What are its resources? Where is its leader Mahamat Mahdi Ali? So many questions that the answers are just fragmentary.
Some believe the group is camping in the southern Libyan desert, near the border with Chad. Second that it is more in the center, near the city of Houn, but without security. Its leaders remain discreet, with no fear of revenge, and Fact has agreed to participate in discussions initiated by Togo, along with other rebel groups: the UFR, CCMSR and FNDJT.
The goal of the Togolese initiative is to gather the demands of the rebels in order to contribute to the national dialogue to be organized by the Chadian government. They demand general amnesty, the release of prisoners of war and political prisoners, but they refuse to recognize the military committee of Mahamat Idriss Déby. The latter sweeps away all business with facts.
.
