Reports from Nigeria’s northern neighbour, Chad indicate that its five-term President, who was recently elected for a sixth term and has been in authoritarian rule of Chad for the last 30 years, was killed in a battlefield with rebels. Idriss Déby has had a long-running battle with insurgents who had advanced to the southern part of the country, and also operating in the northern ends of Nigeria, within the Borno State axis. He has been reputed to personally go into battles against rebels. On this occasion, the battle with the rebels ended in his own demise. Déby was one of Africa’s longest-ruling leaders. Déby, who was very much criticised for jettisoning term limits has been the unquestioned dictator of his country. In 2018, he introduced a new constitution that would have allowed him to continue to rule the country till 2033. The election in which he was reported to have won 79% of votes, to usher him into his sixth term in office, was boycotted by most of the political opposition in the country.
Following Déby’s demise, the country’s transitional military council was reported to have immediately announced his son, Mahamat Kaka Déby as his successor. Mahamat will be serving as the country’s interim President, with the government and National Assembly dissolved and a nationwide curfew imposed in the country.