A statement from the national radio in the central African state has said that Idriss Déby, the veteran president of Chad has been killed on the battlefield. Anika Khan reports.
- Idriss Déby, also called Idriss Déby Itno, was born in Fada, Chad in 1952. He was the military leader and politician who ruled French Equatorial Africa, Chad since he seized power in 1990.
- Deby was born into a family of the Zaghawa ethnic group. When the country was in a long-running civil war, he joined the army. He went to France to earn a pilot’s license.
- He returned to Chad in 1978 and became an emerging leader of the Bare forces behind Hissène Habré. By 1982, Habre was able to seize and come into power.
- Déby was recognized as a brilliant military strategist and was made commander in chief of the armed forces.
- In 1989, Déby was accused of plotting to overthrow Habré’s government. He escaped to Sudan where he regrouping and attacked the Habré’s troops. After the Habre fled the country in 1990, Déby’s forces seized N’Djamena, the Chadian capital.
- He promised to establish a multiparty democracy and end the civil conflicts that Chad endured for so long. He was made the president in 1996 although the election was marred by credible allegations of fraud.
- Throughout his presidency, he faced resistance from several coup attempts. His administration was beset with several corruption charges and known for repressing rights and freedoms.
- The 63-year-old leader was in power for 30 years and has just won a sixth term in presidential elections last week. The poll prompted an invasion by a Libya based-rebel group and Concord in Chad.
Idriss Déby’s death underlines the growing instability of the Sahel region, where a series of crises are fueling.