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Chad Army Spokesman Says President Idriss Deby Dead at 68

VOA News

   TheChadianarmysaysPresident Idriss Deby has died,justdays after being
   re-elected to a sixth term.

   Speaking on state television Tuesday, an army spokesmansaid Deby was
   killed whilevisiting troops on the frontline of a fight against
   rebels,whohad advancedin recent daystowardthe Chadian capital,
   N'Djamena.The spokesman did not give details on how Deby was killed.

   Thespokesmansaida military council has been set up to rule the
   country.He said the councilwill beled by Deby's son,General
   MahamatIdriss DebyItno,37.

   There has been no independent confirmation on the circumstances of the
   Chadian president's death.

   Deby hadruledthe Central African country since coming to power in a
   December 1990 coup, making him one of Africa's longest-serving
   leaders.Critics called him an autocrat, while in the West he was seen
   an important ally in the fight against Islamist extremist groupsin West
   Africa and the Sahel,like Nigeria-based Boko Haram.

   On Monday,Debywas declared the winner ofChad'sApril 11 election with 79
   percent of the vote.

   Hiscampaign saidthat daythatDebywas going to the front line to
   joinarmytroops battling what he called terrorists.

   Rebels based in Libya to the north had attacked a border post on
   election dayand had moved hundreds of kilometerstoward the capital.

   On Friday, the U.S. embassy in Chad [1]ordered the departure of
   non-emergency U.S. government employees, citingthe rebels' advance and
   possibility of violence in the city.

     [2]#Chad On April 17, 2021, the Department ordered the departure of
     non-emergency U.S. government employees from U.S. Embassy N'Djamena
     due to civil unrest and armed violence. See full alert here:
     [3]https://t.co/tgDXRk1KgG [4]pic.twitter.com/09RUynl1g4
     -- Travel - State Dept (@TravelGov) [5]April 17, 2021

   On Monday, theChadianarmy said it had inflicted aheavy loss on the
   rebels, killing more than 300 of them.

References

   1. https://td.usembassy.gov/security-alert-ordered-departure-of-family-members-of-u-s-government-employees-from-u-s-embassy-ndjamena/
   2. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chad?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   3. https://t.co/tgDXRk1KgG
   4. https://t.co/09RUynl1g4
   5. https://twitter.com/TravelGov/status/1383537814633992195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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