A national funeral will be held today in the Chadian capital to pay the funeral of President Idriss Deby, who was killed Monday on the front line in battles with the rebels. Leaders of countries arrived in Chad to take part in the funeral, despite warnings from armed groups.
The French News Agency reported that the funeral ceremony for Idriss Déby, 68, will be held in the Ummah Square, which is the largest of the capital's squares, after praying for him in the Great Mosque, and after the funeral ends, the late will be buried in his hometown in the town of Amdgaras, in the northeast of the country near the border with Sudan .
French President Emmanuel Macron, his Guinean counterpart Alpha Conde, and a number of other African leaders arrived Thursday in the capital, N'Djamena, to take part in Deby's funeral, despite warnings from the rebels that foreign leaders should not attend Deby's funeral for security reasons.
neighboring countries
Defense Minister of neighboring Nigeria, General Bashir Salehi Magashi, said that his country had strengthened security measures along the border, in anticipation of a possible influx of refugees from Chad, while the army of the neighboring Central African Republic said it was on high alert to prevent any armed groups from crossing the border.
A source in the French presidency stated that President Macron met on Thursday evening with General Mohamed Idriss Deby, 37, the son of the late president and who presides over the transitional military council that took power after the killing of the president, who was a close ally of Western powers - headed by France - in the ongoing war. Armed groups are active in Chad and the rest of the Sahel countries.
The Chadian president, who ruled the country for 30 years, died from wounds sustained on the front line in the north of the country, according to the army, which said that the president went to the front line to personally lead the battles against the rebels.
Son's plan
General Mohamed Idriss Déby said that the army would hold democratic elections within 18 months, but opposition leaders condemned his assumption of power and described it as a coup, and an army general said that many officers oppose the transition plan in the country.
On Wednesday, the Chadian rebels stationed in Libya said they would end a temporary ceasefire by midnight, and were between 200 and 300 kilometers from the capital, N'Djamena.
On Thursday, France defended the army’s control of Chad, saying that was necessary in order to achieve security in "exceptional circumstances."
The Chadian constitution provides for the speaker of parliament to take office in the absence of the president, and Kabaddi has refused to assume the post temporarily until elections are held for security considerations.